Forever & Always
by CityOfFallenAshes
Summary: For two years, the group traveled together. For three years, Kagome and Inuyasha were separated. After Kagome returned, their life together began. Will all be peaceful? Or will fate refuse to allow them to be together? /InuXKags/MirxSan/ Rated T for curses and stuff/
1. Prologue

**A/N: The results of my boredom and having slept for two hours for the past week and yet to be two weeks thanks to some snoring pugs XD: I fell asleep on the table yesterday! ^_^ Of course, I was sort of writing this in a notebook…this was one of the stories I was hesitant on writing out for you all because, well, I think it'll have a lot of meaning to me, as I love reading about what happened after the story. Anyhow, disclaimers and feel free to PM me about any questions, as well if you have ANY PLOT IDEAS! That would be welcome! :D Now enjoy this little prologue! **

**(By the way, Kagome shall get kind of emotional XD)**

For two years, I traveled with _him_. We defeated Naraku with the help of our friends. But only the two of us, _him_ and me, defeated the true enemy: Shikon No Tama, the Sacred Jewel. I thought we would finally be able to live in peace, me staying by _his_ side.

But then I was sent home to my era, and the well was sealed.

For three years, I tried to move on. I went to school, tried not to think of _him_ or my other friends. I went out a couple times with Hojo, but Hojo just wasn't the same.

He wasn't the man I loved.

I went to the well every chance I could, sitting inside and hoping that _he_ would appear. I couldn't even think _his_ name without feeling pain shoot through me. I always felt closer to him when I was by the well, and most of the time, I cried for him.

I finished high school, and then went to visit the well one more time before going to college. I leaned against it, peering in with eyes full of tears. I missed _him_. So much it hurt. If I left, I wouldn't ever have the chance of seeing _him _again. You don't know what it's like to lose your closest friend, the person you love, until you do.

I realized I truly wanted to be with _him_. To be with the _hanyou_. My _hanyou_.

And then it opened. I peered down in surprise at the sky, tears spilling out of my eyes. When Momma came in, I showed her and she told me that it was fine.

So I jumped in.

Through the well, like I had three years ago all the time. Through the well and to the person I thought I would never see again.

When I landed, I looked up into the face I thought I would never be able to witness again. _He _stared down at me for a moment, _his_ eyes full of emotion and shock. But then, _he_ held out a hand.

And I took it.

_He_ pulled me out of the well and right into _his_ embrace.

I was scared it was just a dream.

But it wasn't, and my life with Inuyasha began.

**A/N: It's a short little chapter, but trust me. Next one will be better. I used italics on all of the 'he's, and 'his', and 'him's to show you how scared Kagome is that it's all a dream a such, and how much she missed him. Cried while writing this. XD As I said, overemotional Kagome for some time, but next chapter will be up today. Peace!**


	2. Greatly Missed

**A/N: As promised, first chapter ^-^ okay, so I don't know where this story will go. It could be a single chapter, it could be a hundred. So, forgive me if it goes kind of crazy. XD Warning: Upcoming, over-emotional Kagome and a bit of an emotional Inu XD! Disclaimers, and thanks to any readers!**

I smiled as I tossed little Yutaka, Sango and Miroku's son, into the air before catching him. Yutaka laughed and gurgled, his face lit up with a grin. Playing with him as I listened to Sango, Miroku, and Shippo and occasionally Inuyasha's grumblings, I multi-tasked. The said _hanyou_ was less than five feet away, refusing to go any further, and keeping his eyes on me at all times, and as if he was scared I would disappear. I smiled reassuringly at him before returning my attention to Yutaka.

"We all know Inuyasha was depressed without you here," Sango told me, laughing at Inuyasha's furious and irritated look that he shot her.

"Keh! Are you saying you didn't miss her, Sango?" Inuyasha snorted, growling low in his throat.

I joined in with Sango's laughter as she said, "See, Kagome? It's obvious he missed ya!"

I turned to look him in the eye, meeting his gaze. "I missed you all, every single one of you, so much, too," I said, remembering how part of me had practically died each time I thought of Shippou, Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, and even Kirara. Just remembering them now, when they were in front of me, almost brought tears to my eyes.

"We were all worried you wouldn't come back," Shippou said, sitting on the right side of Kagome, as Inuyasha sat on the left.

"Inuyasha, especially," Miroku added, taking a sip of some tea that they had prepared. "He went to the well every three days."

I blinked in surprise as I handed Yutaka back to Sango. "You did, Inuyasha?"

He snorted, stood up, and stalked outside. We all heard the thump on the roof as he landed and sat down.

"Well, that's good enough for an answer," I said, smiling. He hadn't changed one bit. I sighed, looking down at the cup of tea Sango had handed me. "I'm not going to lie, guys. I visited the well every day, sometimes even twice a day. I hardly ever went anywhere with my family or friends because I was scared Inuyasha would come for me and I would be gone, and that then he would return to this time without waiting for me."

Sango rocked Yutaka as he began to fall asleep. "Kagome, he would have waited. You know he would have." She suddenly glanced over her shoulder. "Miroku, we need to put our kids to bed for a small nap." She laughed, indicating her now sleeping twins. "You two go do something together," She said, now pointing at me and waving me out the door. "I'm sure Inuyasha wants to be alone with you, anyways. We'll make some lunch while you're gone."

I laughed, stood, and headed out the door.

~O~

Inuyasha jumped down from the roof, landing with a soft thud next to me. His golden eyes were full of anxiety, examining mine. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yep! Sango shooed me out, saying that their kids need a nap. I think Shippo fell asleep, too," I told him, smiling gently. "You know what? Why don't we go to the Sacred Tree, Inuyasha? It's probably peaceful."

Inuyasha nodded, and kneeled down. Still used to it, I easily clambered on. He darted in the direction of the Sacred Tree, and I smiled, happy to be with him again.

When we reached it, he put me down, and then jumped into the branches. I laughed and sat down on one of the large roots, leaning against the wood, breathing in the scents of the clean air. I smiled softly at the blue sky, a crisp breeze blowing my hair around my face. I peered up at Inuyasha, seeing the splash of red in the branches above. "Say, Inuyasha?"

"What," he growled, glancing down at me.

I didn't get angry with him, as I knew he had had an exhausting day with me coming back and all. I knew he was happy that I was back, but the shock must have been a lot or something. "Did you miss me?"

"Keh. Maybe."

I sighed, twirling a lock of raven black hair around my finger. "I missed the others, you know." I saw, out of the corner of my eye, him stiffen and continued quickly. "But when I thought of you, Inuyasha, a part of me died."

"I missed…you, too." He said in a hushed tone. But I knew he had felt the same way I had.

"Three years…" I murmured to myself, still unable to believe that it had taken me that long to figure out what I truly wanted.

"What was that?" I heard Inuyasha snap.

"Are you getting old?" I laughed. "It's been three years," I repeated, then frowned when a drop of water fell from the sky. I glanced up in surprise, and saw that the sky was blue. So where had it – "Inuyasha? Are you crying?"

"Why the hell would I?" His irritated voice came, a hint of a snarl in it. I tried not to laugh, as I knew he was.

'Why don't you come down," I offered hopefully.

He jumped down, landing lightly next to me. He then pulled me against him, burying his face in my hair. "Kagome…"

"I know."

~O~

We returned to our friends a bit later to have some food. Sango lent me a beautiful kimono –one that I tried to reject, but wasn't allowed to –which I slipped on while Sango kept Miroku and Inuyasha out. Inuyasha returned to my side as soon as he could, eyes never leaving me for more than a moment.

"Relax, Inuyasha," Sango teased, winking at Miroku. "We promise she's not going anywhere!"

I laughed as Inuyasha growled. "Come on, Sango, leave him alone."

Sango grinned, leaning against Miroku. "Okay, okay!"

I finished my bowl and stretched. "So where am I hanging out at night?"

Inuyasha tilted his head, ears twitching.

Teasingly, Sango said, "Well, she could stay with us. Inuyasha, you can sleep on the roof or in a tree, and Shippou can stay with Kaede." She laughed when the _hanyou_ growled warningly. "Just kidding! Inuyasha and Shippou made their own little hut. You could stay there, as I'm sure Inuyasha's not leaving you alone anytime soon."  
I smiled brightly. "Okay! And Inuyasha, you are to stay at least five feet away from me while I'm sleeping."

Sango and Miroku burst into laughter, holding their stomachs while little Shippou looked back and forth between Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha (who wore a mixed expression of amusement and irritation), and me. I started giggling as well, and I couldn't help but laugh harder when I noticed Inuyasha's ears twitch at the sound.

After quite a bit of laughing, one of Sango and Miroku's children appeared, rubbing her eyes. "Momma?"

Sango walked over to her, still chuckling. "What's wrong, Miu?"

"Why's everyone laughing, and who is she?" Miu asked, pointing at me.

I smiled at Miu brightly. "Hello. I'm Kagome."

Miu's eyes went round, and then she darted back towards her sister, pouncing on her. We could hear as she hissed, "MAI! MAI! Momma's friend Kagome, the one that she told us about, is here! COME ON!"  
I broke into another fit of laughter.

**A/N: So there's that chapter ^_^ Thoughts?**


	3. Preparing the Hut

**A/N: Disclaimers, thanks to reviewers, and I'm glad ya like :D  
**

As Inuyasha led the way back to his and Shippo's hut, I was thoughtful. Everything had changed so fast. One moment, I had been staring into the well in the shrine, thinking of desperately of Inuyasha and how much I missed him. The next thing I knew, I was here, walking beside him, his hand wrapped around mine.

He glanced at me, his golden eyes smoldering with curiosity. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

I grinned at him, feeling his hand tighten around mine. "Nothing, Inuyasha. I'm just thinking. Everything's going so fast. Just a day ago I was back home, unable to look at you and see your face. Now I'm here with you, and Sango and Miroku have children."

Inuyasha gave me a rare smile in reply, and then stopped at a hut. "Here it is. It's not really big or decorative, though. And there's not a lot in there. We never really stayed here either, so it's probably dusty. I'll go see if we can borrow a spare futon from Kaede or something for you." Then he released my hand and was gone.

I gently opened the bamboo mat to peek in. It was pitch dark, but it had some firewood stacked so I carefully picked my way over. It was dusty. But not too bad. I stacked some firewood in the fire pit that was there, and then found some flint outside. I had soon lit a fire and was looking around. It was pretty much empty. Obviously just a shelter for when Inuyasha and Shippo needed a place to rest when Sango and Miroku were in their own hut. Adding one final log to the fire, I took a cloth from my pocket and began swiping the dust off of the floor. I sneezed multiple times as I did so.

Then Inuyasha had returned and he frowned. "What are you doing?"

I jumped in surprise when I heard his voice, but smiled and stood when I saw it was him. "I started a fire so that it's not cold in here and then I tried to get rid of some of the dust." As if to back up my words, I sneezed again. "How long have you been avoiding this place? It was kind of gross, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha shifted his weight, looking slightly guilty. "Sorry," he muttered. "I guess I kind of forgot about it. I just slept in the trees while Shippo stayed with Miroku and Sango."

I laughed, and his ears perked. "Don't worry. We'll clean it better tomorrow," I told him. "Then we can get some food and stuff to stash in here. I'm sure Sango doesn't want to have another mouth to cook for. Maybe she and Kaede can give me some help. In my time, we had a stove and stuff. Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure it out." I rambled to myself, already listing some of the things I needed to add to the hut. _We need a wash bin…some food…dishes…my own futon…I don't know if Inuyasha wants one or not…I'll need a kimono or three…_ I sighed. "Everything's so much more complicated here."

Inuyasha snorted. "Have you seen your time? It's covered with those things that go around by themselves on that hard ground and stink." His nose wrinkled, and I stifled laughter.

"Do you mean buses and cars and stuff?" I gave in and started to laugh. "They're actually pretty handy. We could have gone a couple hundred kilometers more than we did when we were looking for Naraku." Then I smiled. "Did you get the futon? I'm tired."

Inuyasha nodded and tossed it over. I barely managed to catch it, staggering when I _did_ manage to catch it. Inuyasha was instantly apologizing. I just laughed and waved off his apologies. "Its fine, Inuyasha!" I spread out the futon and the blanket that he had brought. I yawned, crawled into it, and buried myself beneath the blanket. "Night!"

~O~

The next morning, I woke up and was slightly confused. Where was the sunlight coming in from my window? Where was Buyo? And my desk? Where was the white ceiling? I shot up from the futon I had been sleeping in. _Where was I?_

Movement beside me distracted me, and a familiar voice asked, "Kagome? What's wrong?"

"Inuyasha!" I sang, grinning. Everything flooded back into my mind. _That's right! The well let me come back!_

Inuyasha rolled his eyes with a snort. "Keh. Don't scare me like that, wench."

"Sorry," I apologized, still smiling. Then I scrambled out of the futon to inspect the hut with a critical eye, as I could now see well. Dust still coated the floor, and it did need some extra stuff. "Okay, I'm going to help set the hut up today!" I announced, starting to roll up the futon and fold the blanket. "We'll stop by Kaede's really fast so I can see if I can borrow a cloth as well as return this. You can go out and get me a futon for myself while I clean, okay?"

Inuyasha, not really understanding a word that she was saying, just nodded. "Whatever." He climbed to his feet, extending a hand to help me up. I took it and he pulled me to my feet, me holding onto the futon.

"Okay, let's go!" I said cheerfully, skipping out of the hut and towards Kaede's. "Maybe Sango will let me borrow a kimono as well…" I mused to myself as I walked, thinking.

Inuyasha was obviously enjoying having me back in a silent way, as his ears twitched every time the wind blew his way or when I said something allowed. He had a soft look to his face, one I didn't remember being there before I left. I glanced back at him with a smile, eyes bright as I searched his gaze for a moment, and then went back to muttering to myself.

Kaede's hut came into view soon enough, and I called out softly. A soft "Come in!" was heard and I ducked through the door way. "Hello Kaede!"

Kaede's soft withered face lit up. "Kagome! I see you have returned. I heard rumors, but I wasn't sure until Inuyasha asked for a futon last night. Or stole it, more like." The elderly _miko_ shot a glare at Inuyasha as he ducked in as well.

I frowned, turning to face him. "Inuyasha, you stole the futon?"

"Keh! It's not like she needed it."

I sighed, handing over the said futon. "Sorry, Kaede. I'm going to get my own today if I can get some money somehow. I just wanted to drop by with this and say hi. Now I gotta go visit Sango again." I gave a laugh, remembering the night before when Mai and Miu had seen me.

"Nonsense, child. Keep it." Kaede waved a hand carelessly. "This old woman does not need it."

I frowned. "But, Kaede! I can't just take it! It doesn't seem right!"

"Then think of it as a 'welcome back' gift," Kaede replied, smiling. Then she looked up as someone came in. "Ah, Rin! I see you've returned with the herbs I asked you to pick?"

Rin, who had been the one to come in, nodded. "Yes. Rin has brought the herbs. Hello, Kagome-Chan!"

"Oh! Rin!" I smiled and kneeled down beside her. "How are you? And why aren't you with Sesshoumaru?"

"Rin is fine. And Sesshoumaru-Sama left Rin here to…" She frowned, struggling to remember.

"I told Sesshoumaru that it would be better for young Rin to get used to the company of humans again," Kaede answered my question.

I nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. Well, I had better head over to Sango's. I need to speak with her about some things. See ya later! Bye Rin!"

"Goodbye Kagome-Chan!" Rin called as Kaede waved after us, as we were already stepping outside, me in front and Inuyasha only a step behind me.

"Why are we going to Sango and Miroku's?" Inuyasha growled, looking irritated as I handed him my new futon, otherwise the one he had stolen.

"Because I need to see if I can borrow a kimono or something so I don't look so out of place," I replied, smiling brightly at him again. "Then I need you to go get some stuff in the village for me, okay? Since I'm staying here, I'm going to fix up the hut a bit. We'll need a wash bin, some pots and pans, stuff like that. While you're doing that, I'm going to fix up the floors…oh! I forgot to ask about the cloth. Oh well. I'll ask Sango for one." I finished my small speech, thoughtful again as I walked beside him towards Sango and Miroku's. "Then tomorrow, I'll go into the village to get some food and stuff, too. Okay?"

Inuyasha just snorted before snapping, "Why the hell do we need so much stuff?"

"Because people are going to live there." I replied. "Hmmm…I'll have to ask Sango about preserving food… and you can see if Miroku needs help with any exorcisms if you want so we can have the money to get stuff. Then I'll need to figure out how to plant a garden with herbs and maybe some greens."

Inuyasha groaned.

~O~

"Here you are!" Sango said cheerfully as she pulled out a few articles of clothing. "There's a white kosode –you wear that under the kimono during the winter. And here's another one to sleep in. Then here's a kimono, and a wraparound skirt." She pointed to each one in turn.

The yukata was plain white, obviously made for underclothing.

The kimono was a summer one, and was black with cherry blossoms splashed across it. Tying it to keep it folded was a matching pink obi. The wrap around skirt was black with cherry blossoms as well.

I smiled as I picked up the kimono and obi. "Why don't you chase off your husband and Inuyasha while I put this on?" I asked, smiling.

While Sango did that, I pulled on the kimono, using the obi to tie it in place so it wouldn't fall open. I looked at myself in the slightly large mirror Miroku had bought for Sango a few days ago. I liked the kimono. It was perfect, and it fitted well, too. "What do you think?" I asked, turning to face Sango.

The demon slayer smiled. "It's perfect on you, Kagome. Okay, boys! You can come on in!" She called, leaning down and picking up a crying Yutaka. "Shh…" She soothed with a smile, rocking her son as Inuyasha and Miroku ducked in again.

I turned to face them. "What do you think?" I asked, directing the question mainly at Inuyasha.

Miroku bowed his head. "Lovely as always, Kagome. Hey Sango, let me take him while you go start some lunch…" he added, taking Yutaka from his wife's arms. He began playing with the boy as they all secretly awaited Inuyasha's answer.

And the _hanyou_ just snorted and looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks.

I grinned, guessing his answer. "Can I help, Sango?" I turned to face her, placing my hands on my hips. "I might need to re-learn how to cook without a stove."

"A stove? What is that?" Sango asked after nodding.

I followed her towards where the pots and stuff was stacked. "It's like a fire, but without the flames. It's a…machine…Never mind. It's really hard to explain." I finished with another laugh, smiling as I tucked some hair behind my ear.

For the next hour or so, I helped my friend with cooking. And then, after lunch, I asked if I could borrow the cloth. "You wouldn't believe how much dust is on the floor." I said with exasperation. "Could I borrow a wash bin or a bucket, too, for water?"

Sango laughed. "Of course." She dug around in her stuff for a moment, and then produced a cleaning cloth while Miroku vanished outside to get a bucket.

When he returned, he handed it over, and I folded all of my new clothing, as well as the clock, and put it into the bucket. "Thanks!"

~O~

"Okay, we need some silverware, a pot, a pan, a wooden spoon, a wash bin, our own cleaning cloth, a bucket…" I continued listing off some of the stuff that I had come up with on our walk from Sango's hut to the one I was scared to clean. "Got it?"

Inuyasha growled. "Whatever." He turned to leave, and then growled, "Kagome, stay here. Okay?"

I smiled and nodded. When he had left, I went over to the nearby creek and filled the bucket with water. I returned to the hut, and then dipped the cloth in water. I wrung it out, and then began rapidly wiping it across the floor, wincing at the dust that appeared on it. After it was dirty, I repeated the 'soak-wring' action and continued.

Eventually, the floor was done. I stood in the doorway, a smug smirk on my face. "Perfect. The floor's completely clean now!" I smiled brightly at my work, and then walked outside to dump the dirty water out of the bucket. I looked around to see if Inuyasha was on his way back yet, but found he wasn't. So I went back inside to fix up the messy wood pile.

After another hour or two, I heard footsteps and mumblings. I smiled when I recognized the tone and came outside. "You're finally back!" I teased. "Took ya long enough!"

Inuyasha growled from behind his stack of items. "I had to get Miroku to help me, 'cuz I didn't remember half of the stuff you were talking about," He said, carefully setting down all of the stuff. "And Sango said to buy you another kimono or something," He added, digging through the items to produce a purple kimono with silver circles that overlapped each other in some places. "Here."  
I smile as I took it, examining the fabric. "Thanks! I love it!"

He gave a small smile, and then peered into the hut to look at the cleaning I had done. "Geez, woman. Now it looks like I just built it."

"Did you build it yourself?" I asked, grabbing the broom he had brought to give a final sweep. I began sweeping as I listened to his answer.

"Yeah. It got cold one day, so I figured I'd better build one. I haven't really needed it since though." He said, rubbing the back of his head as I leaned the broom in a corner and began dragging things in, placing them in certain spots.

Soon enough, all the stuff was in, making it look more…homier. "There!" I exclaimed, placing the last vase in a corner. I had placed some wild flowers in it, making the hut smell nice. "What do you think?"

"It's okay I guess," he muttered.

"Okay?" I frowned, placing my hands on my hips. "I worked hard on organizing everything!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and gently took my hand, drawing me in for a hug. "I know."

"Then how is it okay?" I demanded, looking up at him, struggling to keep my annoyance in place.

Inuyasha gave a playful grin, surprising me. "It looks better than it did before." He offered cheekily, stepping away and ruffling my hair.

I glowered for a moment, then smiled myself and reached up, locking my fingers gently around a dog ear. I gave it a gentle tug. "And whose fault was it that the hut was dirty?"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Inuyasha rolled his eyes good naturally, swatting my hand away, gently. "Now make something to eat, or something. I'm hungry."

I laughed again and reached for my new pot.

**A/N: So they're not exactly married at the moment, but you can tell both missed each other XD Thoughts?**


	4. A Small Argument

**A/N: I'm gonna die. I swear I'm going to die. I get an average of an hour and a half of sleep every night, even though its summer, I'm getting a queen sized bed instead of a twin sized, I beat Okami, I'm getting Okamiden, and my mom said I'd get to go on a huge shopping thing with her. I am also a rich teen (I'm under 16, I'll tell ya that much) as I have over $200. Anyhow, disclaimers, thanks to reviewers, etc. Enjoy!**

The next morning, I stepped out of the hut, Inuyasha hot on my heels. I guessed that he didn't dare think of me leaving his sight yet, which was kind of sweet but kind of annoying as well. "Hey, Inuyasha?" I asked thoughtfully as we walked towards Sango's.

"What?" He muttered, arms crossed within the sleeves of his red kimono.

"Where's Shippo? I thought he would have come visit yesterday since he really wanted to see me." I replied, tucking some hair behind my ear.

Inuyasha gave a quick growl at a villager that stared at Kagome for too long, and then replied, "The runt? He went to another examination thing. He goes to them all the time."

I sighed, glancing over my shoulder at him. "That's too bad. I was gonna ask him to help me and Kaede pick herbs this morning."

"When did you agree to that?"  
"Yesterday when she stopped by. I think it was while you were out getting stuff for the hut." I replied, stretching my arms over my head. "What are you going to do while I do that, Inuyasha?"

All he said was a "Keh".

I muttered under my breath about tiring half-demons and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Why exactly are you dragging me to Sango's?" Inuyasha suddenly asked in an annoyed tone.

"Sango wanted us to take Mai and Miu out with us to pick herbs while Yutaka naps." I answered easily, reaching around to tighten the purple obi that had come with the kimono Inuyasha had bought for me. It looked like a _Hime's_ robes to tell you the truth. I'm just hopeful it wasn't too expensive. "Then, after we're done, you and I are going to the village to shop for some food. Okay?"

"Keh."

I sighed, wanting to slam my head into a hut as we passed.

~O~

"Okay, Mai, you get this herb…" I showed Mai which one to get and she ran off to collect the berries, while I showed another to Miu, who did the same. "There, that'll keep them busy." I laughed, and then concentrated on carefully picking some herbs that Kaede had assigned.

A few moments later, some leaves fell from the tree over me. I also heard a rustle. I looked up in surprise and was surprised to find Inuyasha looking down from the tree. I sighed. "I thought you were helping Miroku with some stuff!"

"Keh, we finished early," Inuyasha snorted, jumping down and landing at my side. "Got a problem with that?"

I shook my head and went back to picking herbs. It was a peaceful few moments, as Inuyasha was quiet but watching over me and I was just picking herbs, which I had to admit, was kind of boring after chasing Naraku around, school, and all that.

"Okay, let's find Kaede," I told the three around me when Mai and Miu had returned with bunches of herbs. "The basket's filled, so I'm sure she'll want us to tell her, right?"

"Lady Kaede tells us to do that all the time!" Miu announced, poking her sister.

"Yeah! Then we go back to her hut!" Mai finished, giving her sister a poke in return.

Inuyasha snorted at the two as they began a poking war. "Idiots. They're as bad as Shippo," He muttered under his breath. I could still hear it of course.

"Be nice, Inuyasha," I scolded gently. I gave him a poke of his own in the arm. "Don't be a hater because you can't play with the kids. And whoever said you couldn't? Now come on, let's find Kaede."

Miu and Mai scurried after us as we started off in the direction Inuyasha said Kaede was in.

~O~

After returning to Kaede, and then bring Mai and Miu back home, I was tired. So we headed to the hut for a short rest. I plopped down on the futon with a groan, massaging my feet that still had some sandals on. "How do you walk around barefoot all the time?"

Inuyasha snorted, leaning against a wall. "I dunno. Why does it matter?"

I gave a shrug. "It doesn't. I was just curious." I sighed, thinking as I continued to massage my foot. "Hmmm…hey! My birthday's in three days!" I grinned happily. I was turning twenty! "Hmmm…jeez. I'm getting way older." I said out loud, hitting my head with my hand. On my birthday, it would have been exactly five years that I had known Inuyasha. That was impressive in my eyes.

"Keh. What the hell is a birthday?"

I laughed. "I didn't know you didn't celebrate them. It's the day you were born, Inuyasha. It's a reason to celebrate."

"Huh. Why the hell would I do that?" He snapped, ears twitching irritably.

"What's gotten into you?" I finally demanded. I'd been patient with him, and all he did was snap and yell at me! "You're being really mean, Inuyasha!"

"Why does it matter?" He growled in reply, ignoring my furious look.

I let my eyes drift to the beads around his neck and grinned. "I wonder if the beads still work."

He froze. "Damn it, Kagome, don't do it!"

I smiled at him. "Then tell my why you're being so mean lately!"  
Inuyasha growled, dog ears flattening. "It doesn't matter. Why do you care?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Of course it does. And because you're acting weird and being mean! What's wrong!"

Inuyasha just glared at me, golden eyes lit up with fury. "Just shut the hell up!"

Shocked, I stared at him for a moment, and then looked down at my hands in my lap, tears welling in my eyes. I have to admit, I kind of missed home now. Just a little…okay, a lot. The tears fell into my lap. From the corner of my eye, I saw Inuyasha stiffen.

"Damn!" He cursed. "Why the hell are you crying?"

"Don't cry!"

I was surprised to hear his words sound like a small plea and felt the tears stop immediately.

"Keh. I have my reasons, so leave me alone," I heard him mutter.

I sighed and laid down on the futon to take a nap. _I'm gonna find out whether you like it or not…_

**A/N: I obviously had no muse -_- Thoughts?**


	5. Scared

**A/N: Sorry about the slow updating . I have no muse what so ever. Disclaimers!**

I frowned as I walked along a forest path, searching carefully for some herbs that Kaede needed to help stop some infection that a villager had gotten from a cut while out in the fields. "Hey!" I suddenly said out loud, knowing without a doubt that Inuyasha was somewhere in the trees above me. "Where's Shippo?"

"Keh! The brat went to another damn fox examination," Inuyasha snorted above me and I glowered up at him.

I had missed him a lot, yes. But what was going on? He wasn't acting like himself! Okay, maybe this was his usual self. But he was just being…weird! You would think that after three years he would have changed and been happy to be around me, but he was completely different than what you would have thought. He had resorted back to his old ways from the very beginning. Growling at her every two seconds, glaring.

"I hope he comes back okay," I said, worried for my little fox friend.

"He's done it before. He's not stupid."

I don't know why, but his comment caused my patience to snap.

I whirled on him with an almost Inuyasha-like growl, the basket of herbs falling to the ground. "What's wrong with you?" I yelled at him, my face probably going red with anger. "For the past three days I've been here, you've been nothing but mean!" I could feel tears welling up.

Three years I had missed him. Three years. And this is what happened when I finally came back.

Inuyasha's for appeared in the branches, and his eyes wore a guarded expression. I noticed instantly another expression in his eyes, one I wasn't used to: fear.

I frowned, still looking up at him in the trees. "Inuyasha?" I asked, ignoring it as a tear fell. "What's wrong?"

"Damn it!" he cursed, shaking his head violently. "Kagome…I…" he broke off.

I crossed my arms, my neck starting to hurt from looking up at him for so long. "Inuyasha, come down."

He obeyed, landing with a light thud in front of me. I could still see the fear in his eyes. That's what was worrying me. "What's wrong?" I repeated in a demanding tone. "If you don't tell me, I will say the word."

Inuyasha flinched, but I only felt a slight twinge of guilt. "Sorry," he murmured softly, not meeting my eyes. "It's just…I…don't think this is real. You being here. I'm going to be happy for a moment and then when I turn around you'll be gone…"

I felt the anger fade as I realized he was scared that he was dreaming about me. I also realized that I wasn't the only one that needed comforted. "Inuyasha…" I murmured. Then I gave a gentle smile and wrapped my arms around his chest to comfort him. "I promise I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be here for the rest of my life."

Inuyasha just growled softly, burying his face in my hair. I could hardly believe it when he gave a soft whimper and tightened his grip on me.

I gave a gentle smile when I pulled away. "Inuyasha, look at me." He met my gaze and I examined his golden eyes. "I promise, okay?' I said when I saw the hesitation in them. He nodded and I smiled happily at him. "Now. Can you please relax? You know I'm not going anywhere, so can you stop being so mean?"

Inuyasha gave a slight smirk. "I can't promise that."

I rolled my eyes and gave one of his ears an affectionate tug. "Can you help me pick my herbs up again?"

"Why did you drop them to begin with?" he replied, kneeling down beside me as I stared to pick the said plants up.

I groaned and hit the back of his head.

~O~

After dropping the herbs off for Kaede, Inuyasha and I went back to the hut that I was residing in while I figured out where I would permanently stay. "Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"Am I staying here permanently or just for now?" I meant the hut of course, but he took it in a completely different way.

His eyes filled with anger and hurt. "What do you mean 'just for now'? You're staying with me for good, right?"

I groaned. He was just like a little kid! "Of course I'm staying with you! Why else would I come back? I meant the hut, Inuyasha! Am I staying here, living with Kaede or by myself in my own little hut?"

"Oh," he muttered, and I was once again reminded of a small child. "You can stay with me if you want. Shippo can stay with Kaede when he's here," he said softly, gently taking my hand and tracing patterns on it with a claw.

I smiled and leaned against him. "Okay, then. I'll stay here." I was relieved that I wouldn't have to be apart from him. Now that he wasn't weird anymore, it was easy to see how much the tree years had affected him. And how much he had missed me. I was delighted to see the happiness that came into his eyes when he saw me, and, more to my amusement then delight, the way he growled when a villager so much as looked at me on the way back. It was hilarious to see the villager run as fast as they could away from me.

Inuyasha made a grumbling sound in his chest that reminded me of a purr. "Good," he growled, one arm snaking around my waist.

I laughed and reached over to lightly kiss his cheek.

**A/N: Just a small random chapter to let you know I haven't forgotten you guys XD Thoughts?**


	6. Young or Old?

**A/N: A quick, small update! Disclaimers!**

Shippo came back a few days later, and I realized suddenly that it was my birthday. I smiled gleefully as I cleaned out Inuyasha and my hut, proudly and fondly washing off a vase.

Inuyasha eyed me warily from where he sat leaning against the wall. "What the hell has you so excited, wench?"

I ignored his tone of voice. "I turned twenty years old today!" I announced, dancing over and affectionately tugging on his ear.

He simply raised an eyebrow and lightly pulled me down beside him. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Language, Inuyasha!" I chided, laughing happily as I leaned against him. "It means I'm older, an adult. How would people put this…I've been alive for twenty years."

Inuyasha tilted his head as Shippo came in. "That's not very long, Kagome," he said.

Shippo jumped on his shoulder. "Yeah, it's not very long."

I frowned, picking up Shippo and settling him in my lap. "What do you two mean it's not very long? And Shippo, you're only a few years old. Inuyasha's the same age as me. So you two have no room to talk…when is your guy's birthday?"

Shippo frowned. "Ma and Pa said I was born in the spring."

Inuyasha growled. "Summer."

I laughed as they teamed up on me, wondering what I was up to. "Okay, okay," I giggled, leaning over and lightly kissing Inuyasha's cheek, and then the top of Shippo's head. I laughed harder when Inuyasha gave a small growl as I kissed the top of Shippo's head. "How old are you guys?"

"Hmmm…" Shippo counted on his little fingers for a few moments, and then said, "I gotta think…"

"In this time I'm about two hundred years old," Inuyasha interrupted. "In your time I'm seven hundred…see? I'm way older than you."  
I almost toppled over in shock at his announcement as he continued. "Shippo, you've got to be…what? Fifty to seventy five years old?" Shippo nodded and Inuyasha grinned. "See?"

I blinked, my eyes wide in shock. "I'm…dating a…an old man?" I burst into giggles at Inuyasha's expression and Shippo's confused face. "Sorry!" I coughed through the giggles, trying to stifle them. "I can't believe you guys are that old! Shippo, you only look eight or nine, and Inuyasha…you look my age!"  
"Demons age differently," Inuyasha growled, tone still confused. "Why are you laughing at us?"

I forced the giggles to go away. "I'm… I'm not. I'm actually trying to figure out how the heck I know such an old person…"

"Damn it, I'm not old!" Inuyasha snapped, pushing Shippo off of his shoulder as the kit tried to climb onto it. "And get off, Shippo!"  
I patted Shippo's head where a lump was growing and said, "Inuyasha! Sit!"

After that fiasco, Shippo went over to Kaede's and I began to cook some food, completely ignoring a pestering half-demon. Inuyasha, trying to get my attention, acted like a little kid. He tugged on my hair, whined, growled, threatened, begged, and nudged my hand. Finally, after he gave my hair a harsh jerk, I whipped around and snapped, "What?"  
His ears flattened and I instantly felt guilty. "What's wrong?" I asked, making my tone soft and gentle.

Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms. "I just wanted to talk with you, jeez," he muttered, glowering at the wall beside me.

I scooted over to him, making sure that the water I was boiling some soup in wasn't overflowing. I settled beside him and glanced at him. "What did you want to talk about?"

He ignored me.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you," I offered, gently tugging on his sleeve. "I was just trying to make us some lunch, okay, Inuyasha?" I smiled hopefully at him, hoping that I had been forgiven.

Inuyasha glanced at my face and growled. Obviously deciding that I'd been forgiven, he turned his face towards mine and bluntly asked, "Why did you want to come back here to my time?"

That was the last question I'd been expecting. I blinked in surprise, then swallowed and stammered, "Why would…I…"  
Inuyasha forced me to meet his gaze and he growled, "Why?"

I forced myself to calm down and replied confidently, "Because I said I would stay at your side, Inuyasha. And I wanted to be with you and our friends. That's why I think the well let me through. Because I _wanted_ to be with you guys." I smiled at him softly. "Not because I still feel guilty for shattering the Jewel, even though I destroyed it. I'm glad I shattered it, actually, or we would never be able to be in the same hut," I joked, patting the top of his head as I stood to go stir the soup. I returned to his side again afterwards. "Why do you want to know that?"

Inuyasha shrugged and hesitated, then pulled me closer. "'Cause I don't want you going anywhere," he finally said.

I leaned on him, resting my head on his shoulder. "I promise, Inuyasha. I'm not going anywhere, nor do I want to. Okay?"

Inuyasha, as if unsure of what to do with himself, settled to stroking my hair gently…like a dog. I smiled, fighting the urge to burst out laughing. Once the soup was finished, I gently flicked his left ear and climbed to my feet. "Hey, Inuyasha? You do remember that tonight's the new moon, right?"

Inuyasha cursed and slammed the back of his head into the wall, which had me rushing over to make sure there wasn't a hole in it. "Damn! I completely forgot!"  
"No going anywhere tonight, kay?" I told him, handing him a bowl of soup. "And you can sleep since we don't have to worry about Naraku anymore."

Inuyasha began greedily gulping down the soup, wincing as it probably burned his tongue. "Keh! I haven't slept once…okay, maybe once on the new moon. I'm not doing it again."

I raised an eyebrow, carefully sipping at my own soup. "Inuyasha, it's not going to kill you. I have some bow and arrows here, you know. I can help if something happens."

Inuyasha set down his bowl after finishing it. "I'm not going to sleep, damn it!"  
"Okay…" I sighed, setting down my own bowl and grabbing his to wash it off. "I'll be back…"

**A/N: So next chapter we see what happens on the new moon :D**


	7. New Moon

**A/N: :D Okay, new chapter! It's time for the new moon!**

**Inuyasha: It's not the new moon.**

**City: -snorts- No dip. In the story it is.**

**Inuyasha: …**

**Kagome: Calm down, Inuyasha, it's just for now.**

**Inuyasha: …**

**Kagome: Inuyasha?**

**City: Inu?**

**Inuyasha: -lunges- DON'T CALL ME THAT!**

**City: -squeaks and runs off- Enjoy while you can!**

After dinner, I began to help Inuyasha prepare for the moonless night. He said he wouldn't sleep, but did he have a clue about the sutras I'd helped Miroku put up? Nope. The guy is so hopeless sometimes! The sun set and Inuyasha pulsed. Black bled into his normal silver hair, dog ears vanishing. Brown leaked into his golden eyes. His claws shrank into normal stubby nails and his fangs into canine teeth.

"Keh!" He snorted, leaning back against the wall. "Damn moon. It should stay full so I don't have to go like this…"

"You want Kaguya to come back?" I questioned, settling down beside him with a raised eyebrow. "You're crazy."

"I never said I wanted that damn wench to come back!" Inuyasha snapped, glowering at me. "I just don't like the moon changing!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes before closing them. "I'm going to rest a bit," I murmured, getting as comfortable as I could against a wooden wall. Not easy.

Inuyasha gave another snort, then pulled me over to him, hesitating before wrapping his arms around me.

I sighed. I didn't mind the close contact at all. I minded the fact that he would later use his 'weak human emotions' as an excuse to why he did it. Truth be told, I loved Inuyasha. I'd loved him since a bit after meeting Sango and Kirara and Kohaku…even after Koga, but I loved _Inuyasha_. He always complained that nobody cared or was even able to stand a half-demon. But he was surrounded by caring friends who loved him for who he was, not because he protected them.

And then you had me. I loved him for who he was, too. Sure, his demon side _did_ maybe scare me a little, but it was a part of who he was. I couldn't change that. I would rather have him as Inuyasha the half-demon then Inuyasha the human.

Maybe he loved me, too. But I didn't know. He would tell me when the time was right if he did or didn't.

So I would enjoy being by his side like this for as long as I could.

~O~

"Yo, Kagome, we've got a problem."

I woke, groggily sitting up. "What's going on?" I asked the still human Inuyasha.

"Keh! Just that we've got, oh, I'd say, maybe fifteen demons around the hut?"

I shot up, grogginess instantly gone. "WHAT?" I peered through a crack in the door flap and flinched. There were, indeed, around fifteen demons surrounding the hut, eyeing it hungrily. "Inuyasha," I whispered, shouldering my quiver with a shaking hand. "I'll try to take care of them, you stay in here, okay?" Inuyasha snorted. "As if! You'll just get yourself killed out there. Haven't you learned how to put a barrier up or something?"

I shook my head slowly. "No, Kaede hasn't mentioned that yet, Inuyasha," I said softly, reaching for my bow. "I'll be fine. It's time I was able to pay you back for protecting me all those times," I said, going to move the door flap. "Maybe we could somehow get a message to Sango or Miroku. Even Kirara. Try and figure something out, okay?"

Inuyasha jerked lightly on my arm after snatching my hand. "I said no!"

"I said I'm going!"

"No!"

"Inuyasha, we're going to get killed if I don't do something!"

"Damn it, Kagome, hell no!"

"Sit!"

_Crash!_

I slipped out the door and into the night. I ignored Inuyasha yelling at me from the hut and quickly knocked an arrow to my bow. "Who's there!" I cried, knowing fully well that the demons wouldn't answer. When they didn't, I turned to the first one and quickly released the arrow.

The demon gave a roar and dissolved into ash.

"Jeez, they weren't kidding when they said my power had been sealed by Magatsuhi," I muttered, then whipped around as a demon leaped at me. I released another arrow, then another.

It became a blur; a demon leaped, I shot the arrow, knocked another one, got attacked again, Inuyasha came out of the hut with a rusty Tetsusaiga…I whipped around. "INUYASHA! What the heck are you doing?"

"Keh!" He snorted, jumping to avoid a demon. "Not like I'm gonna let you die out here."

I couldn't hold back my smile as I shot another demon. "Well now they're gonna know your secret!"

"So?"

"Get. In. The hut!" I hissed, firing an arrow again at a demon that narrowly missed slicing my best friend's head off.

Inuyasha yelped in surprise and jumped backwards, nearly toppling over ontop of me. "Watch. Where you're going!" I yelled at him furiously.

"Sorry," Inuyasha said sarcastically. "I didn't realize I was in the way."

"Well you were," I snapped back, shooting the last demon with a sigh of relief. I was mentally and physically drained now. Mentally because of using my powers, physically because of moving around so much. I staggered slightly, gasping for breath.

Inuyasha's gaze instantly darkened with concern. "Are you okay?" he asked, darting to my side.

I nodded, fighting to catch my breath. "I'm fine. I'm just tired. And I told you I could do it, Inuyasha! Why would you come out here?" Inuyasha grumbled under his breath, then mumbled, "'Cause I was worried…got a problem with that?"

I blinked in surprise then smiled gently. "No, I don't," I murmured, then stumbled over to the door. "Let's go inside. I'll fix up some tea or something…"

"Huh. You just said you were tired though." Inuyasha mocked my voice to himself and stalked inside after me.

After we were both settled comfortably again, me sipping on some tea, I could feel my mind edging towards unconsciousness. Using so much of my powers usually tired me out like this, so it wasn't unusual, but…

I sighed and slumped backwards.

~O~

I yawned and opened my eyes…to find two golden ones inches away.

"Gah!" I gasped, shooting upwards and almost toppling sideways. "What the heck are you doing? Don't scare me like that!"

Inuyasha snorted, his dog ears twitching. "Keh! Why should I apologize? You're the one who randomly passed out last night. Damn!"

My eyes widened in surprise and I winced. "Sorry," I murmured, giving him a bright smile. "I didn't mean to. I was really tired after last night's battle."

Inuyasha snorted again. "Kagome, you could have said something."

"Look, I'm sorry," I retorted. I scrambled to my feet so I could start up some breakfast. "Jeez, it's not my fault my body is weak compared to yours, okay?"

Inuyasha avoided my gaze as he murmured, "You scared me."

I felt my face heat up in a furious blush and turned away, reaching for a pot. "I didn't mean to," I apologized softly.

"I know," Inuyasha snorted, rolling his eyes. Then he began to watch me cook. "It's not your fault…"

**A/N: Thoughts? Inu is starting to get a bit more affectionate, no?**

**Inuyasha: O_O **

**Kagome: Yay ^_^**

**Inuyasha: Shut the hell up.**

**Kagome: Inuyasha, be nice!**

**City: Yeah! I'm doing you a favor!Inuyasha: WHAT DAMN FAVOR?City: Soon you'll have an excuse to kiss Kagome to your hearts content ^_^**

**Inuyasha: -_-' I'm going to kill you.**


	8. Exorcism Gone Wrong Part I

**A/N: -is dancing around to music- I'm so happy for no reason! ^_^ Disclaimers!**

**Inuyasha: -_- What the hell is wrong with you?**

**City: Nothing!**

**Miroku: In that case…**

**City: O_O :D Now I have an excuse to use my magnificent trident on you! -waves magical staff- Voila!**

**Inuyasha: -pokes tiny Miroku with claw- **

**Kagome: I think that's a bad idea…**

**Miroku: -climbs into Sango's lap-**

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

"Okay!" I announced, finishing my daily cleaning. "That's done for the day…what am I gonna do for the rest of the day?" I asked myself, looking around the clean hut…then shot a dirty look at Inuyasha as he stormed in, allowing dust behind him. "Inuyasha, I spent all morning cleaning and now I gotta clean again!" I complained, reaching for my rag.

"Keh! I was just telling you that Miroku and I are going to a village next door to exorcise a demon," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "Stay here." "Okay…" I raised an eyebrow. "That's all you had to say?"

"Course!"

"Bye then!" I said with fake cheerfulness, pushing him back outside. Then I latched the door flap behind him.

"What's your problem, wench?" He snapped back at me through the flap.

"Didn't you even consider that maybe I wanted to help?" I yelled back, and then began cleaning again. "Leaving without asking if I wanted to help…jerk…" I muttered under my breath as I swept the floor free of dust with my broom.

Silence met my ears, then -

"You want to come?"

He sounded bewildered and I almost laughed. Instead, I decided to give him the silent treatment and see what happened. So I went back to sweeping, the sound loud in my ears.

"Kagome."

I smiled and continued to ignore him, reaching for the bucket of water and dipping a rag in it.

"Oi! Wench!"

I wrung the rag out, and then began wiping it over the floors. _I'll have to make a rug or something so people can wipe their feet…_

"Kagome!"

After finishing wiping down the floor, I pulled out the sewing things I had received from Sango. She was teaching me how to sew and I was doing pretty well. In fact, I was currently working on a kimono. If I could finish it, I could start on my rug…

"Damn it, Kagome, if you don't talk, I swear I'm going to rip this door flap down!" Inuyasha growled from outside.

I silently laughed, then went back to sewing.

And then Inuyasha was in front of me, glowering and growling down at me. I gaped at him. "How did you…"

"I wasn't kidding," he snapped, pointing at the now ruined door flap.

I sighed. "Now I'm going to either have to make a new one or ask Sango to or go buy one again, Inuyasha. Do you realize you've ruined…six of those in the past few days?"

"So what?" he scoffed, raising an eyebrow. Then his ears flattened. "Do you seriously want to help us exorcise a damn demon? All we do is he gets it out of hiding and I swing Tetsusaiga. That's it."

I grinned, stopped my sewing, set it in its small basket, and began twirling my hair around a finger. "Sounds more fun then sitting here all day while I wait for you to come back."

Inuyasha shot her a look. "You're weird."

"What's new?" I laughed, standing up and reaching for my bow and arrows. "Let's go!"

"I didn't say you could come!" Inuyasha snapped, ears flattened and eyes flashing angrily.

"Then I'll ask Miroku." I replied, shouldering my bow and quivers. "If he says no, I'll come back here. If he says sure, I'm going with you." I smiled brightly at him. Then, with a shock, I saw the anxiety and worry in his eyes. "Look, are you that scared I'm gonna get hurt?" I asked suddenly, raising an eyebrow. "If you're that worried, I'll stay."

"Keh!" He turned his face away from me, voice gruff. "No!"

"Then let's go!" "…Can you stay here?"

I burst out laughing and dropped my weapons. "Alright, I'll stay here this time. But I'm going to come next time, okay? I'm not as weak as I used to be. My purifying powers are stronger now, and I even practiced my archery when I was stuck in my time for three years." I told him proudly, walking over to him.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can come next time."

I smiled, but then the smile wavered slightly. "Be careful!" I croaked horasly. This would be the first time he had left my side since I had returned.

His gaze softened slightly. "Keh! I'm not stupid enough to get myself killed!" He said softly.

I snorted in response, quickly and shyly giving him a hug. When I pulled away, I could see a light blush coating his cheeks. "Go before Miroku thinks something improper happened." I laughed, gently pushing him towards the door. "I'll be fine."

Inuyasha's gaze lingered on me for a moment, and then he left.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A while later, I sat in Sango's hut, cradling her son to my chest. "Sango!" I whined, bored out of my mind. "They take forever!"

Sango, who was busy playing with Miu and Mai, her twins, chuckled. "Now you know how I felt. But it'll probably be faster this time, Kagome. Inuyasha won't admit it, but he missed you a lot. He was strange while you were gone." She became quiet. "He would go off for days without a word, and when he returned he would be all depressed. He was out of it most of the time. It nearly got Miroku killed once."

I sighed and smiled slightly. "Well if that happens again, I'll 'it' him into an early grave!"

Sango grinned and ruffled Miu's hair as she asked, "Momma? Can Kagome-Chan tell us a story?"

"Of course," I answered for Sango. I handed Yutaka over to his mother, and then kneeled beside the two. "Would you two like to hear about…the time we battled Kaguya? Or have you heard that story?"

Mai's eyes went round. "Who's Kaguya?"

I laughed and began speaking. "A couple years ago, we were battling Naraku. We supposedly killed him, and then this woman named Kaguya was released from a mirror…"

For the next hour or so, I told the story of the time we defeated Kaguya.

But when it became dusk, and the girls had gone to bed, I asked, "Sango, shouldn't they be back by now?"

Sango nodded, looking anxious herself. "They should…Kirara!"

The said feline popped out of the corner she had been curled up in. She meowed, and then looked up at Sango.

"Take Kagome to the village Inuyasha and Miroku went to. It's just south of here, okay? Stop by her place and get her weapons, too. Kagome," Sango turned to face me as she added, "be careful if something's bad."

I nodded quickly. "Got it." I climbed onto Kirara.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

When Kirara landed, I knew that something was immediately wrong. I scrambled off of her back and darted to the nearest village man. "Sir, can you tell me if a monk and a silver-haired companion are here?" I asked swiftly, ignoring the strange looks I was receiving.

The man nodded hesitantly. "They chased a large demon out into the woods that way," he said, pointing west.

I thanked him and scrambled back onto Kirara. "Let's go!" She jumped into the air, swiftly flying in the direction the man had pointed. As we flew, my face paled. Multiple trees had crashed to the ground in many areas, and there was evidence of the Wind Scar. "Hurry, Kirara!" I pleaded. She roared and took another bound through the air.

When I heard a huge roar, I quickly knocked an arrow to my bow, using my legs to hold onto Kirara. She growled and immediately turned…for us to find a large demon right behind us. I shrieked in surprise and fired the arrow, barely skimming its neck as Kirara swerved to avoid it as it snapped its jaws at us.

Kirara bounded higher into the air to avoid it as it continued trying to latch its jaws onto us. It had to be the biggest bear demon I had ever seen! It was _huge_!" I fired an arrow, letting it hit the demon dead center in the forehead. It roared and dissolved into ash. "Holy…cow…" I gasped.

"Kagome!"

I looked down to see an anxious looking Miroku, waving up at me urgently. There was no sign of Inuyasha. Feeling my heart give a terrified squeeze, I climbed off of Kirara as soon as she hit the ground. "Where's Inuyasha?"

"He got hit," Miroku said simply, turning and walking briskly in the eastward direction. I followed slowly until I saw a flash of red. Then I broke into a full out run.

"Inuyasha!" I cried as I flung myself down beside him. The front of him was covered in a deep red liquid. He stirred slightly and I instantly turned to Miroku. "Take Kirara to get some bandages! Hurry!"

Miroku nodded and scrambled onto Kirara, who leaped into the air instantly.

I turned back to Inuyasha and carefully brushed some hair out of his face, tears building in my eyes. "Inuyasha…you idiot!" I whisper-yelled. I removed his kimono and under garment so that I could see his wounds. I took the cloth that kept the hair out of my chest and began gently wiping away some of the blood so I could see clearly.

"Ugh."

I jumped when he groaned and then glowered at him as he began to try and sit up. "Stay down!" I commanded, and then went back to wiping the blood away. _There's so much…_

"What the hell are you doing here!" Inuyasha growled suddenly, glowering up at me.

"You took forever and Sango said it was too long, so she told me to come find you guys." I spat in reply, fury bubbling up in my chest. I come to help him, and he gets irritated that I came at all? "Would you rather just lie here and die?"

Inuyasha winced and I mentally apologized. "Shut it, wench."

I rolled my eyes and went back to getting all the blood off. What was left was a large gash across his chest. I flinched at the sight, then began lightly using my already blood soaked cloth to put pressure on the wound. "Are you okay?"

Inuyasha snorted. "You have to ask that? Damn, you're stupid!"

I clenched a fist angrily. "I was worried about you, I came, I killed that bear demon, and then you tell me I'm stupid? What's wrong with you?" I snapped, stopping what I was doing and standing up angrily.

Inuyasha pulled himself into a sitting position, leaning heavily against a tree. He winced in pain, then relaxed, eyes sliding shut.

I panicked and scrambled over to him again. "Inuyasha?"

"What."

I sighed in relief. He would be fine. "As soon as Miroku comes back with bandages, we'll head back on Kirara, okay?"

"Whatev-" _Crash!_

**A/N: Thoughts?**

**Inuyasha: I swear, if you make Miroku come out of those bushes with lecherous intentions towards Kagome because I'm injured…-hand edges over to Tetsusaiga-**

**City: -poker face- I wasn't going to, but that's not a half bad idea, Inuyasha.**

**Inuyasha: O_O**

**Kagome: -starts laughing- She was kidding, Inuyasha!**

**Miroku (who is back to normal size): Awwww….**

**Sango: -_-**

**City: -squeaks and hides behind Kagome-**


	9. Exorcism Gone Wrong Part II

**A/N: …Okay, so I have more stories to update. But I really wanted to write for this one :D Disclaimers!**

**Inuyasha: Do you stalk us or something?City: Maybe.**

**Inuyasha: …So you're like Miroku.**

**City: Okay, what the hell do you want now, Inu?**

**Kagome: Yeah, what's with the calmness?**

**Inuyasha: …Nothin?**

**Kagome: -glowers-**

**City: Excuse us while we beat the truth out of him…**

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

I whipped around, hand reaching for another arrow. "What-"

"Damn it!" Inuyasha hissed through gritted teeth, glowering angrily up at the thing. "Of course, the damn demon has a mate to go with it…WHERE THE HELL IS TETSUSAIGA?"

I felt my eyes go wide. "Look for it! You find it and I'll see if I can purify this demon, too!"

Inuyasha growled. "Like hell you are! You go see if Miroku's nearby! I'll take care of this damn demon!"

I glowered at him and tugged sharply on one of his ears. "No! Inuyasha, I'm not helpless, okay? Find your stupid sword so that you can not go full demon and try to kill me, and then come help me, got it?"

"…be careful."

I blinked in surprise at the worry in his tone, but gave a curt nod and fired my arrow. "Hurry and find the sword, Inuyasha."

He nodded and began looking around wildly.

I locked my gaze on the demon and fired yet another arrow. It hit it square in a paw and purified the paw off…but not the entire demon. The demon roared in pain and fury, swatting at a tree that was blocking me. I swallowed, scared, but fired another arrow. _Hurry up, Inuyasha…_

"Got it!"

I sighed in relief when Inuyasha came over to my side as fast as he could, transformed Tetsusaiga in hand. "Are you okay enough to fight?" I asked, quickly glancing at his wounds.

"Keh! You're kidding!" He scoffed, raising Tetsusaiga. "Just a…_scratch_!" At the last word, he swung the sword, releasing a large Wind Scar.

I rolled my eyes and fired another arrow to go with it.

Both missed.

I frowned. "That shouldn't have happened…" I muttered, reaching for another arrow. I slipped it out of my quiver, realizing with a shock that it was my last one. "Not good," I murmured, aiming carefully. I forced my powers into the arrow. Energy began to swirl and cackle around me, and I ignored Inuyasha's surprised yelp. I could sense everything.

I didn't, however, notice the enormous paw that swept out of nowhere towards me. Inuyasha snarled and grabbed my by the waist, leaping into the air to avoid it. "Watch it!" he snapped, grip tightening slightly.

I ignored him and furrowed my brow. The bear demon seemed far too intelligent for, well, a bear demon. "Inuyasha, something's different."

"No, it's weaker than normal," he replied sarcastically. "You just noticed? The thing's bigger than the other one and the other one managed to get me! Damn, you really are stupid!"

"Don't care!" I yelled, and then jerked out of his grip so that he wouldn't get hurt by my powers. I let them build up again, allowing my mind to focus on nothing but forcing my powers into the arrow. When I had pushed as much as I could into it, I released my final arrow.

It flew forward with a massive amount of pink light, easily striking its goal. What I didn't expect, however, was the _huge_ explosion that came with it. The force of energy that destroyed the demon sent me flying backwards, right into Inuyasha. Both of us hit the ground with a crash. Black spots threatened to invade my vision but I shook them off and scrambled off of Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!" I gasped. "You okay?"

The half-demon cursed. Or…the human did. Inuyasha glowered at me. "Damn it, Kagome!" he hissed, gritting his teeth audibly in pain.

I winced at him. "Sorry. I guess it purified your half-demon form for a bit, didn't it." I gave a nervous laugh, and then gently helped him sit up. "But are you okay?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Kagome. Damn!" He snorted as Kirara suddenly landed with Miroku on her back, holding onto a bundle wrapped up in a cloth. "What took you so long? You missed the demon's friend! It was a blast!" He said sarcastically.

I giggled at the unintended pun he used. "Literally. My arrow blew the thing up," I said, beginning to laugh.

Miroku raised an eyebrow, and then handed over the bundle. "I apologize greatly. But I ran into Koga…"

I blinked in surprise. "Koga?"

"Yeah. He and Ayame were married, by the way." Miroku replied. "Anyways, he said a massive aura's building up near the mountains, at the palace where a dog demon apparently lives. At first I thought it was maybe Sesshomaru doing something, but then I saw him land at the village with Jaken to probably visit Rin."

I frowned as I pulled out some medicine that Kaede had obviously prepared and began to apply it to Inuyasha's wounds, then gently began wrapping them with bandages. "Then who is it?"

"Err, that's the problem: I have no idea." Miroku said hesitantly. "But it was apparently the home of Inutaisho…so should we check it out?"

Inuyasha almost toppled over. "My old man had a damn castle…and I couldn't live there? What the hell is wrong with this world? Damn!"

I rolled my eyes, but nodded at Miroku. "I think we should. We can stop by the village on the way. Miroku, why don't you stay with your family? Shippo's away training again, so I can go with Inuyasha after he's healed up a bit to check it out…though it would be nice for the five us to travel together again." I gave a smile as I remembered the 'fun' we had all had on our travels.

Miroku scoffed. "And miss the chance to slay a true demon with my friends and wife again? How about we leave Yutaka, Miu, and Mai with Rin and Kaede and join you? We can wait until Shippo comes back to leave."

"Keh!" Inuyasha snorted. "You just want a chance to womanize again, don't you, monk! Suit yourself, but Sango'll have your hide if you womanize." Miroku placed a hand on his chest, pretending to look hurt. "Inuyasha, how dare you intend that! I have not womanized since before I married Sango!"

Inuyasha snorted. "If I remember correctly, you were flirting with that woman the last exorcism we went on!"

"Don't mention that to Sango…" Miroku laughed nervously. "It was just for some fun…"

I rolled my eyes and finished tying Inuyasha's bandages. "Putting Miroku's normal habits aside, I agree. We can stop at the village for a few days so that you can heal, Inuyasha, and wait for Shippo. Maybe if we get there in time we can talk to Sesshomaru about what's going on at that place, then we'll head there to see what's going on ourselves."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes when Miroku responded, "Okay, let's head back to the village."

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A few hours later, Inuyasha was standing beside me, Sango, and Miroku as we confronted his brother. "Sesshomaru-Sama, can you tell us if you know anything about a strange dog demon that lives at your father's palace?" I asked hesitantly, gently nudging Inuyasha when he growled.

Sesshomaru simply raised an eyebrow.

"Huh! My Lord does not answer to the likes of you!" Jaken squawked, turning to follow his 'Lord' as Sesshomaru turned and started walking away.

"Yo!" Inuyasha suddenly called after him. "Sesshomaru! Why the hell didn't you tell me there was a palace that our old man lived in?" Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder and said darkly, "My mother does not wish to meet you." Then he was gone.

My jaw dropped in shock. "Did he just say his mother?"

"Oh, Kami!" Sango groaned, slapping a hand to her head. "This is going to be like fighting Sesshomaru…"

"Who said anything about fighting?" Miroku asked, rubbing the back of his head. "It'll probably be like…quite a large argument."

"Maybe you can rest while we go get some information from Koga, Inuyasha," I suggested, watching his ears twitch. I was instantly tempted to touch them like I had been so many times three years ago. "You can wait for Shippo, too."

Silence…and then…

"HELL. NO!"

I almost started laughing at his furious look at the probable thought of me going to see Koga after three years. "Come on, Miroku said he's married to Ayame, so he might not try anything…"

"_Might?"_ The half-demon hissed, ears flattening against his skull. "No! You're either staying here or I'm going with you."

"But you're hurt," Sango pointed out.

"Then she's staying," Inuyasha announced, crossing his arms in his red sleeves.

I raised an eyebrow. "Inuyasha, you can't tell me what to do. You forget, I still have the power to 'it' you into an early grave." My face twisted into a smirk when his eyes widened. "Now, if you _want_ me to stay, I might consider it."

"Keh!" Inuyasha growled, a fang appearing as he curled a lip. "Fine! Go see the wolf! Like I care!"

"Alright." I said evenly, though inside I was giggling up a storm when his face became full of disbelief. "I'll go see Koga with Sango and Miroku."

A moment later…

"…can you stay with me?"

I easily heard Sango and Miroku's whispers as I smiled and nodded.

"She's got him wrapped around her finger," Miroku whispered to Sango.

Sango nodded in agreement and whispered back, "How long do you think it will be before Kagome has his kid?"

I choked on Sango's question, receiving a questioning look from Inuyasha.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

I stretched my arm, wincing as I felt pain in a muscle. It seems I had pulled one while drawing my bow. "Ugh," I muttered, gently moving it so that the pain became worse, though I was stretching it.

"What's wrong with you?" Inuyasha snorted, growling at me from across the hut.

I rolled my eyes at his grouchiness. "Nothing. I pulled a muscle, that's all. But without me, you and Miroku would be dead." I added smugly. "Seems that most of your exorcisms are boring, but not all of them, no?"

"Shut it, wench," He snarled, turning his face away.

I sighed, my eyelids drooping again. _Curse it all! _I yelled on the inside. _I used all of my energy up again! And this time, I used it…all…_ I toppled over, barely hearing as Inuyasha exclaimed, "Kagome!"

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

I slowly regained consciousness. When my eyes opened, I was shocked to see an almost terrified Inuyasha looking down at me. "Kagome?" He asked voice slightly frantic. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I almost jumped away in surprise as he leaned closer. Pushing him out of the way, I sat up, rubbing my head. "I'm fine. I used up my powers again. How long was I out?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh! Damn humans…you were out long enough that Shippo's back, as well as Miroku and Sango."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. That was a long time." I sighed, and stood up, looking around our little house. It was completely covered in dust. "Ugh!" I groaned, examining every inch of it. "It's gonna take me forever to clean this place up!"

Inuyasha growled. "You're hurt and all you care about is cleaning the damn hut?"

"I'm not hurt," I snapped back. "I used up all of my energy saving _you_, thank you very much. How are your wounds, anyway? I should change the bandages…"

"Don't bother," Inuyasha growled, practically bristling.

"Kagome! You're up!"

I twisted around and smiled as Sango walked in with Mai and Miu. "Sango! So what did you guys learn about the castle?"

"Yeah!" Inuyasha snapped, leaning against the wall. "You said to wait for Kagome to wake up, and she's awake, so talk!"

"Okay, okay," Sango laughed, ruffling Mai's hair. "So we found Koga and spoke with him -he also said to tell you hi, Kagome." She added, and then continued, "He said that there have been a lot of deaths near the area, and not just demons. Humans, and even a half-demon, too. Koga himself has been going around with part of his pack to investigate. He said they'd learned that a dog demon is attacking mortals and demons alike with fear, literally scaring them to death. Not one has survived. If they survived the nightmare she gave them, she slew them where she stood. She's usually quite calm, according to some villagers that Koga spoke with. According to some villagers that escaped, she used to actually protect them from demons." Sango explained.

"So maybe something has happened that has infuriated her?" I suggested thoughtfully.

Sango nodded. "Perhaps. Anyways, we're definitely going to check it out. Get some rest, we leave at dawn."

**A/N: Thoughts? Oh, and I have a poll I'd like you to vote for if you would do so! :D If you could just go to my profile and click on it, that would be very helpful…Oh! And we figured out what was wrong Inuyasha! Ends up he got his ass whooped by Sesshomaru earlier…**

**Inuyasha: Shut it.**

**City: See? He's not denying it!**

**Shippo: -turns into Koga- Hey, Inuyasha! Look at me!**

**Inuyasha: -gives dark look- Shippo, I will beat you to death if you don't stop.**

**Miroku: Grumpy, grumpy. He's just messing with you.**

**Inuyasha: Save it, lecher. Don't forget, you still have to talk to Sango about how you flirted with those women earlier…**

**Sango: e.o What was that?Kagome: INUYASHA! SIT!**

**City: Well, anyways, please vote! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	10. Confession

**A/N: ;-; I really need to write for A Curtain of Doubt and Love, but I **_**really**_** have no clue what to write for it…so if you read that, excuse me for my very mean abandonment for a bit. ^_^' Anyhow, disclaimers and enjoy this chapter! My newly discovered smiley face: t(;-;t) I saw it somewhere but can't remember XD**

**Inuyasha: -growls- wench, nobody cares about 'smiley faces'.**

**Kagome: But Inuyasha, they're adorable! -squeals-**

**City: Yay! I agree!**

**Inuyasha: -narrows his eyes- Who's this smiley face guy? I'll kill him!**

**City: ^_^" Calm down, Inu, it's just a little thing we adore…**

**Inuyasha: -deathly glare-**

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

At dawn, everyone was up. I was nervously biting my nails, sitting on a step that led to the inside of Inuyasha and my house, where Inuyasha was currently speaking with Miroku about -all Inuyasha had said was "Stuff" so I had no clue what they were speaking about. I had a cloth tied around my neck that contained some items we would need, such as food and a few rags if Sango and I found a hot spring.

When Miroku came out he had a very, very scary-like gleeful look on his face. He waved at me with a stupid grin and went over to where his wife was kissing their children goodbye.

Inuyasha came out after him, avoiding my gaze. I raised an eyebrow as he growled, "Come on. Time to go."

"What's up with you?" I asked, gently poking his arm. "You were in there _forever_. Look! The sun's even up, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha swatted my hand away and growled, stalking towards where our other friends were waiting. "I needed to talk with Miroku and get the damn details from him."

"Can you tell me about the details about the demon?" I asked eagerly. I wanted to be prepared in case we had to fight and maybe kill the demon. If any one of us was unprepared, we could possibly get ourselves killed. "I want to know if it has any weaknesses, especially."

"We don't know its weaknesses," Inuyasha replied simply as we reached our friends. "If we have to kill it, I use the Tetsusaiga. That's it."

I frowned, heading over to where Sango was, using a hand to tightly grip the cloth that hung from my neck with its items. "Do you know what's up with Inuyasha?" I asked Sango as we started walking in the westward direction, where the palace was located of course. Inuyasha's father had been Lord of the West, so it would be located in the west.

Sango's eyes took on a knowing gleam, but she shook her head. "No, but he has been acting strange lately, hasn't he? I'll see if Shippo and Miroku know anything right now…" She slowed down so she was walking right beside Miroku and Inuyasha and instantly joined in with their deep conversation, Shippo also joining in as well.

My heart twisted painfully. I was being excluded. I bit my lip as I felt tears building up. I'd think Sango at least would help me, but I guess I had been wrong. I fell behind them as they passed me and began to trudge behind my 'friends'.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

We traveled through the morning and well into the afternoon. Around four o' clock -I guessed by the angle of the sun, which I had gotten good at during our travels-, we came across a villager who looked like he would be traveling for quite a bit of time.

As I was in front, once again being ignored by everyone else to my frustration, I saw him first. I gave a bright smile and jogged forward to greet them. "Hello," I said with a kind tone. "Could you please tell me if you've seen anything unusual?"

"Huh?" The villager, who had had his head ducked, raised it curiously. He seemed to be in his mid twenties, I estimated, and looked kind enough. "Oh, do you mean the demon that's been killing all of the villages?"

"Yes," I said, glancing over my shoulder at my friends, who didn't seem to notice me chatting with the person. I glowered at them, and then returned my attention to the villager. "Do you know anything about it?"

"I do," the villager stated, "The demon is known as Kimi, and she used to be the mate of the great dog demon that lived at the palace and has protected my village for hundreds of years. That is, until she was fighting a demon a couple months ago. I witnessed it myself, miss. A piece of the demon she was fighting in her grand form broke off and attacked her. It disappeared. I believe that the thing attached itself to her, and is the reason behind her attacks."

I tapped my chin thoughtfully, and then yelped in surprise when I was shoved to the side by Inuyasha, who had finally decided to come and see what was happening. "What the hell do you mean it attached itself to her? Like she's possessed?"

The villager gasped and took a few steps back. "Demon!'

"No sh-"

I cut Inuyasha off angrily. "I know, he's a half-demon, but he's practically my servant, so could you answer our question?"

The villager gulped nervously as Inuyasha shot me a growl. "I-I guess it's like she's p-p-possessed by, you know, th-that thing."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and I huffed angrily. So now he pays attention? Jerk. I cut him off again as he opened his mouth to speak. "Thanks for the information. You can go if you wish, now," I told the man.

The man nodded and then started off. As he passed me, I heard him mutter, "No wonder they're on the road…nobody wants a cursed _hanyou_ in their village…"

Inuyasha whipped around with a snarl, but I beat him to it. I jerked to face the man and raised my hand before slapping him as hard as I could across the face. "Don't you_ ever_ say something like that in front of me, got it?" I hissed, my blue eyes sparking with fury. "Inuyasha's better than you'll ever be! I don't think you've ever tried to battle a demon that's killed thousands of different beings, have you?"

The man ran off as fast as his legs could carry him.

I glowered angrily after him, then began walking again, stalking forwards angrily. Even if I was angered by the fact that Inuyasha was ignoring me and being a jerk after freaking out over the fact that I had passed out, nobody _ever _spoke like that about him when I was around. Even if it was Sango who spoke, I wouldn't hesitate to attack.

"Kagome…" I heard said girl murmur in surprise, tone shocked.

I ignored them and let their now whispering again voices fade behind me as I walked.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

**(Inuyasha's POV (3****rd**** person)*Surprise! :D*)**

Inuyasha was, to say, relieved to find out that they had stopped near a hot spring that evening. He watched with an amused look as Kagome dragged Sango to the said hot spring, leaving me and Miroku to talk alone, as Shippo had raced after them.

"Sango won't say anything," Miroku reassured the anxious half-demon as he growled after the two women. "Our plan is perfect, Inuyasha, she won't ruin it. She likes it as much as I do. I have to say, I knew you loved Kagome, but I had no idea you loved her that much."

"Shut it, monk," Inuyasha growled. He flopped down beside a tree and leaned back against it, golden eyes flickering with emotions as he thought. He knew Kagome was pissed off with the lot of them, but he wanted to plan perfectly how he wanted to go around telling her that, as Miroku said, he loved her. The foursome had been planning all day, while Kagome had stayed a ways away, angry at them.

But by the time they had settled down to camp out, Miroku -surprisingly- and Sango had helped him figure out how to tell her how he felt without him being stressed out and messing up his words. And he would put it into action as soon as everyone but Kagome was asleep. If she was asleep, he's wake her up.

Now to wait for her to come back…

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

I sighed as I slipped into my kimono, mind wondering over the events of the day. "Say, Sango?" I asked cautiously as I tied my obi. "What were you all talking about earlier?"

Sango froze for a minute, and I immediately became suspicious. "Nothing, Kagome," Sango said, forcing a smile. I raised my eyebrow and she bit her lip. "I promise, you'll find out soon enough."

I frowned. I had been so sure she would tell me what the heck was going on! "Come on, Sango, its killing me to not know what's going on! It makes me feel like I came back for no reason but to be in the way." I put on my 'I'm-useless' mode to see if it would help.

Sango looked guilty. "I promise, Kagome. You'll find out soon, okay?"

I sulkily started following her back to the camp. "Fine."

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

I watched irritably as Miroku and Sango began whispering. _Again_. Inuyasha remained silent, almost thoughtful as he ate. And it was annoying me to the point of insanity. When both shot a knowing look at me, I snapped.

I shot to my feet, placing my hands on my hips. _"What are you guys talking about that I don't know?"_ I snapped angrily, shooting a 'So-Help-Me-I-Will-Sit-You-If-You-Don't-Have-A-Good-Excuse' look at Inuyasha when he opened his mouth to speak. "I swear, if you guys plan on leaving me out for everything, I will go back and see if the well still works or not." I swear Inuyasha's face paled at my statement.

"Inuyasha'll tell you right now," Sango said cheerfully, shooting Inuyasha a smirk as the half-demon began to sputter. "Go on, Inuyasha, it was your idea to begin with." Miroku gave him a wink. "Yeah, go tell her."

I watched in shock as Inuyasha stumbled to his feet and beckoned for me to follow him. He actually looked…well, nervous. He was never nervous. I hid a smile and followed him as he walked a ways away from our friends, who seemed to be laughing their heads off. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" I asked curiously.

Inuyasha began to _stammer_. I went into shock as he struggled to form intelligible words. "I…Kagome…look…" I smiled. "Yes…?" Inuyasha actually had a blush forming on his cheeks. I burst out laughing, and he began to growl. "What?"

"Just tell me what you're going to say." I giggled, struggling to put my laughter under control.

"Gah!" Inuyasha looked ready to slam his head into a tree, and he looked uncharacteristically nervous, as said before. His claws kept twitching, like he was ready to slice something at any moment. "Kagome, come here."

I hesitated worriedly. I trusted Inuyasha…but what the _heck_ was he up to? I walked over cautiously. "Are you okay? You're acting weird, Inuya- oof!" I was cut off as he suddenly jerked me over to him and wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my hair. My eyes widened in shock.

"Kagome, listen," Inuyasha sounded frustrated to my confusion. "I…damn!" he cursed and then began again. "Kagome, you…you mean a lot, okay? I know you said you weren't going anywhere…but…" he growled slightly, irritation coming off of him in waves.

I giggled silently. "Inuyasha, are you saying you love me?"

Inuyasha hesitated, and then nodded. His usual hard gold eyes were soft, like molten gold. "Keh! And Miroku said that I had to go around and do it in a lecherous way," he snorted.

I blinked in surprise at his answer, and then burst out laughing. "You…you…oh my gosh, you asked _Miroku_ for help?" Then my face lit up in a large, bright smile. "I love you, too, Inuyasha. I have since our travels, and I always will." I stood on my tiptoes and, to the half-demon's obvious surprise- pressed my lips against his.

He froze for a moment, and then began moving his lips roughly against mine, his grip tightening.

When we broke apart, I smiled and laid my head on his chest, happy that I had come back to Inuyasha.

**A/N: Who agrees with me when I say "About damn time"? And I even made them kiss :D I'd like to thank DarkXFeatheredCosmic, who gave the idea of Miroku's help XD**

**Inuyasha: …Keh! **

**Kagome: -raises eyebrow- That's all you have to say? **

**City: Yeah, you're actually speechless for once…my goal has been fulfilled!**

**Inuyasha: -growls- **

**City: Now, may I say that I had a huge conversation with my brother of all the people I could talk with about this, about how Inuyasha having kids works, whether they're half-demon or 'quarter-demon'. I explained that most of the time, they're half, while he argued about them being 'quarter'.**

**Inuyasha: -eye twitches- What the hell do you mean 'kids'? I swear I will tear your damn throat out if you're planning something…**

**Kagome: Awww! Little Inuyasha… ^_^**

**Inuyasha: -topples over-**

**City: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D**


	11. Water Fight

**A/N: Ello again! I really should be writing for another story but ^_^" I really don't know what to write. Anyhow, disclaimers!**

**Inuyasha: What 'story' thing is that?**

**City: Glad you asked :D It's about your dad and Kagome and their kids!**

**Inuyasha: -eye twitch-**

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

The next day found us walking along a path, me happily beside Inuyasha. Miroku and Sango looked gleeful as we walked. Soon enough, I caught up with Sango though, wanting to talk.

"Kagome, did he tell you he loved you last night?" Sango whispered, knowing fully well that Inuyasha would hear us.

"Yes," I smiled in response. "So what was Miroku's plan about?"

Sango burst out in laughter. "Oh no, he said that Miroku has suggested a plan? Okay, so Miroku's idea was to get Inuyasha to use Miroku's way of things. Otherwise, asking you to bare Inuyasha's kids." She giggled again, trying to stifle the laughter when she heard Inuyasha growl.

I joined in with her laughter, holding my stomach. "Oh my gosh…that's oh gosh!" I wiped my tears caused by laughter away and sighed. "I can't believe Miroku suggested that. I mean, I can see him saying that, but not telling Inuyasha to say that."

Sango giggled again. "Yeah, Inuyasha gave him a good whack on the back of the head yesterday for suggesting it."

I remembered that event. I had been sulking behind the others, seriously contemplating on just turning back around and going back to the village to see if they noticed when Inuyasha had suddenly struck the back of the monk's head. I had stared at them in confusion, and then went back to my sulking.

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad that I don't have to threaten you people today. Speaking of today, are we going to reach the castle today?" I shuddered. "I'm trying not to think of the layer of dust that will coat the hut when we return."

Sango chuckled, patting my head. "Don't worry, Kagome, we should reach it by noon tomorrow! I kind of wish Miroku would have been able to keep the Wind Tunnel without worrying about it swallowing him up. It would have been really helpful, huh?"

I nodded thoughtfully. "It would have been helpful. But look at him, Sango. He's happy with how things are now. He loves you and your children, and look, I think him and Inuyasha are joking around. It's a miracle."

Sango smiled, glancing at the two men and Shippo, who was almost sleeping on Miroku's shoulder. "You're right…you know, I've never seen Inuyasha so happy before, Kagome. Even when you came back from your time after three years, he was still troubled."

I sighed, twirling a piece of hair around my finger. "I know, and I agree. I'm glad that he's happy. If something were to happen to either of us though, it'll be bad…"

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

**(A/N: Quick author's note…watching episode 65 where Inu gets possessed by a flea…-dies laughing-)**

At dusk, I followed Inuyasha to a nearby lake to watch him catch some fish while I soaked my feet. I wasn't used to traveling like I had been and they ached horribly. I giggled softly when the _hanyou_…my_ hanyou_…struggled to keep hold on a large, rather slippery fish.

Inuyasha shot me a frustrated growl. "How about you come try and catch this damn thing," he snapped irritably as he managed to dig his claws into it.

I smiled, waving him off. "Nah…why don't you keep fishing, kay?"

"Why don't you come help?" Inuyasha snapped back angrily, an ear swiveling.

"Well then," I sighed, walking over to him. "Show me how to catch the stupid fish, 'cause I have never caught one without a fishing pole before."

Inuyasha shot me a weird look. "What the hell is a 'fishing pole'?" Then he narrowed his eyes at the water, not moving a single bit. With a sudden lunge into the water, his hands clasped a fish. He dug his claws in and waited before it went still, then tossed it on the bank.

I became thoughtful as I waded into the water. I hitched up my kimono so it wouldn't get wet, then leaned over the water. "They're so fast!" I complained as he grabbed another one. As a minnow edged towards me, I carefully held my hands above the water. It darted towards me, and I slapped my hands over it, managing to soak Inuyasha's face and front in the process. But I raised my hands proudly. "Ha! I got one, Inuyasha!"

"That fish will barely feed Shippo," Inuyasha snorted.

I shot him a warning look and he growled again. "What?"

"Sit boy." I said, and then turned away as his face hit the water, sending up a large splash. I smirked and leaned over the water, ready to catch another fish…

…and got my face slammed into the water. I surfaced, coughing and sputtering. "Inuyasha! What the heck are you doing?" I gasped, whipping around to face the smirking half-demon.

"You got me wet. It was your turn."

I tucked a dripping piece of hair behind my ear with a shocked look. "You…you dunked me in the water!" Then I tackled him, forcing him back down into the water.

He struggled against me, eyes wide with surprise as he toppled over into the liquid. "What the- Wench! You got me soaked!"

I smirked triumphantly. "Ha! You're strong in battle, but slow outside of it!" I scrambled away from him as his eyes took on a scary kind of look. "Inu…yasha?" I stood, feeling sort of worried. "You okay?"

A growl ripped from his teeth as he suddenly grinned, then tackled me like I had tackled him. I was sent crashing into the water, sputtering again. "Ha! You're turn!" He announced triumphantly. Then he scrambled away as I shot him a death-glare. He had a childish grin on his face, his golden eyes sparkling, to my surprise.

I mockingly scoffed. "Psh, that's nothing. I should have brought a water gun back with me."

"Water…gun?" He looked confused, and I took the chance to push him down into the water again.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A bit later, we arrived back at camp, soaking wet, with around a total of six fish and my minnow.

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "May I ask what you two were doing in the water?"

Inuyasha snorted and threw the fish at him. "Not what you're thinking, you lech."

I giggled and sat beside Sango; Inuyasha settled beside me. "I told him to sit when -oops, sorry, Inuyasha!" I quickly apologized when his face kissed the ground. "When he was in the water, and then he dunked my head, so I pushed him in and we basically had a water war."

Inuyasha lifted his face from the ground with a growl and crossed his arms, resting Tetsusaiga against his shoulder. "Keh!" he scoffed.

Sango and I began to put the fish on sticks and set them up by the campfire. "Miroku," I said thoughtfully. "What did you think of that villager's story of Kimi being possessed? Do you think that's true?"

"It's possible," Miroku said, "that she is indeed possessed. If that is the case, we'll take care of Kimi. Then we'll ask around and track down the demon that she was fighting."

"That makes sense," Sango agreed, grabbing a fish as it finished cooking. She took a small bite. "Perhaps it is a regular demon, or it could possibly be a _Motte iru yowai akuma_."

"A _what_?" Inuyasha asked, tearing a bite of his own fish.

"A _Motte iru yowai akuma_, or a weak demon that possesses," Sango explained. "They're hard to find. They're like parasite demons, except smaller and they stick to under a demons chin. They're especially fierce. If that's the case…we have a huge fight on our hands."

"Well then, let's rest. We have a big fight ahead of us." Miroku announced.

**A/N: Well, in the next chapter they will probably come across Kimi (I heard from a friend that that's what a lot of people called her ^_^"). What did you think of the water fight? XD**


	12. Kimi

**A/N: Hello once more :D I've learned that I am amazing at drawing demon Inuyasha.**

**Inuyasha: …WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!**

**City: ^_^ I enjoy drawing your demon face…may I say that your mouth becomes incredibly large while you're demon?**

**Inuyasha: -_- -unsheathes Tetsusaiga-**

**City: DISCLAIMERS! -Squeaks and runs-**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Sango! Miroku! Do you sense that?" I suddenly called as we walked along yet another path. My brow furrowed, and Inuyasha glanced at me.

"Yeah," Miroku mumbled, looking around cautiously, his violet eyes dark. "Definitely a demonic aura."

"Powerful one, too," Sango added, hand going to Hiraikotsu. Shippo climbed onto the said woman's shoulder.

Inuyasha sniffed the air curiously. "I don't smell anything," He said, shrugging our statements off. "You guys are imagining damn things."

"No…Kirara senses something, too," Sango said, narrowing her eyes as she turned to look around. "Be careful…I think it's coming, Miroku."

I unsoldered my bow, knocking an arrow. Miroku pulled out some sutras, and Inuyasha -grumbling as he did so- unsheathed his sword. "Damn mortals think they know -what the hell is _that_?"

I followed his gaze and found him staring at a huge form a little ways away. "Isn't she a dog demon, too? That's what the villager said…so maybe that's her?"

"Nah, I think that's Sesshomaru…or not," Inuyasha interrupted himself, rolling his eyes as the demon disappeared, reappearing a few strides away in a matter of seconds. "Not even that bastard is that fast."

"I'm shocked, Inuyasha," Sango said, "that you're not running off and attacking it like you would usually do? You scared that we'll let it get Kagome?"

"Shut up!" He snapped as my face heated up swiftly.

"Um, guys?" I squeaked, my eyes growing huge as the form appeared only three strides away.

"_Who dares approach the territory of the Western Lands?"_ A powerful -yet feminine- voice demanded.

I squeaked in surprise as the demon lowered its head closer to us, ducking behind Inuyasha. He growled defensively, tightening his grip on Tetsusaiga.

"Do you happen to be Kimi, Lady of the West?" Miroku said suddenly, his grip on his staff so tight that his knuckles were white. He actually looked nervous for once. Not hard to see why; the dog demon was a little bit larger then Sesshomaru.

The demon narrowed its eyes. "Why do you wish to know, monk? I do not think much of _mortals!_" On the last word, her red eyes turned even darker and she lunged, snapping her jaws at Miroku.

Miroku yelped in surprise, jumping to avoid the _daiyoukai_'s teeth, which were about as tall as he would. But when Sango hoisted up Hiraikotsu, he yelled, "No! Don't kill her! I think she is possessed, as the villager suggested! Look at her head!"

I obeyed and looked at her head. My gaze was instantly drawn to a black mark on her forehead that obviously didn't belong there. Every few moments, it pulsed. "How do we get it off? Should I try an arrow?" I asked Inuyasha.

Shippo, who was on my shoulder, said, "But, Kagome, if you shoot an arrow, won't it purify all of Kimi, too?"

I groaned, but kept my arrow knocked. "I forgot about that. Miroku, can you do something?"

"Wait a minute," Sango interrupted, frowning as she examined the demon from Kirara's back, midair. "I've seen one of those. It was a bit before we went to Naraku's castle. Father took me to go on extermination, and it ended up being one of these. I think there's a special type of toxin that only affects this demon. It'll fall right off…but the stuff I have is the very last of it. I don't know how to make more."

"Well, use it, then!" Inuyasha snapped, ears swiveling in irritation. Probably because he couldn't do anything to fight. "Kagome!" He suddenly grabbed me by the waist and shot into the air, narrowly avoiding a giant paw as it smashed down where we had been standing moments before.

When we landed, I used Inuyasha's arm to steady myself before calling up, "its fine, Sango, use that poison! Kimi's an important _daiyoukai_! We can go back to your village and see if we can find the recipe!"

"Yeah, we'll need to. There's probably a nest of them nearby," Sango called back, then clipped open a piece of her armor, revealing a hidden storage place. She pulled out a small container. Then wiped some of it on her hand. "Kirara! Take me down!" Kirara roared and shot downwards, carefully streaking close enough so that Sango could reach the demon's head. Sango swiped the black spot with the poison and then let out a cry of triumph when it fell off. "Inuyasha, use your sword!"

"On it!" Inuyasha yelled back, and then shot a huge Wind Scar at the piece of demon that lay on the ground.

A slamming paw surprised me and I fisted my hands in the back of Inuyasha's kimono, slightly scared. Inuyasha shot me a worried look -to my surprise- and then turned to face Kimi.

"_Hmmm…"_ came the _daiyoukai_'s powerful voice once more. _"And who might you be? Though I must say that poison was a demon slayer, I suppose?"_

"Keh! Who cares who we are, just go back to the old man's damn castle and do whatever you were doing before we came along," Inuyasha snorted, sheathing Tetsusaiga. "I'll let Sesshomaru know that we did actually have to help his mom."

"_You know Sesshomaru, hmm?"_ the giant dog's lips quirked up in a smiled suddenly. _"Ah, I understand. You are Inu no Taisho's other son, Inuyasha, are you not? Hn, how strange. The second son of my husband saving me…and the son of a mortal, none the less. Pathetic. Saved by a half-breed." _

"_What_ did you just call me?" Inuyasha spat, raising Tetsusaiga higher.

"_Damn half-breed!" _She snarled, and then slammed her paw down. Inuyasha was barely able to get us out of the way before it hit the ground.

Holding on tightly to his arm, I watched anxiously. "Inuyasha, perhaps we should get out of here!" Miroku -who had joined Sango and Shippo on Kirara- called down to us. "We did what we needed to do, now let's go before you get one of us killed."

"No way!" Inuyasha snapped back. "I'm not leaving! No demon that calls me that gets away with it!"

"Sesshomaru did," Shippo pointed out.

"Let's go, Inuyasha," I begged, gently tugging on his kimono. "It'll be safer if we leave."

"No!" He stubbornly growled. "If you guys want to leave then leave…Look out!"

I whipped around in surprise to find that Kimi had decided to swat at Inuyasha from behind…and I was in between her paw and Inuyasha.

_Slam!_

My eyes widened in shock as I was hit full force in the back by a huge paw, slamming forwards into Inuyasha. Both of us went flying through the air, past our friends. When Inuyasha landed -we landed a few feet apart-, he simply flipped and landed in a crouch. I, on the other hand, hit the ground with a loud _crack!_ Agonizing pain ripped up my arm, and I felt wetness soak my back. I was too shocked to move before the black spots hit me and I sank into the comfort of unconsciousness.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**(Inuyasha P.O.V. :D)**

Inuyasha rocketed over to Kagome side at the first scent of blood, his ears flattening against his skull. "Kagome! Kagome! Kagome, damn it!" He whirled on Kimi, eyes blazing. "Damn you! I'm going to kill you!"

Scared that their friend was going to turn full demon even with Tetsusaiga, Miroku called, "INUYASHA! Let's go! Kaede will be able to help Kagome!"

Inuyasha nodded and sheathed his sword, not arguing a bit. He lunged over to the unconscious girl, scooped her up, and then leaped to avoid Kimi's paw again. He snarled angrily at her, and then darted into the trees after his friends.

_Please, Kagome…be okay…_

**A/N: Well, that's the end of yet another chapter :D What shall happen next do you think? Anyhow, thoughts?**

**Inuyasha: -curls fists- WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU MADE THAT WENCH KILL HER?!**

**City: -twirls pencil- you don't know for sure that she's dead…good idea though, Inu.**

**Inuyasha: O_O I swear. To fucking Kami. That if she's dead. I will slowly. Tear you apart. LIMB. BY. LIMB!**

**City: Okay, okay. We'll just have to wait and see. -waves off- Anyhow, see ya!**


	13. Grief Triggers a Transformation

**A/N: -Stretches- Well, I spent a good six hours sleeping this morning ^_^ Now I want to update ^_^ Enjoy! And look at my new face! t(^_^t)**

**Inuyasha: -growls- Damn face things again, huh? -Unsheathes Tetsusaiga-**

**City: -squeals and hides behind Kagome-**

**Kagome: Inuyasha…**

**Inuyasha: O_O**

**Kagome: SIT!**

**Inuyasha: -crashes to ground-**

**City: ENJOY! **

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

_Thump!_

The sound startled me out of my deep slumber, but not completely. What was that? And…my back and arm screamed with pain. Enough to force a small whimper from my lips, a quiet sound in the otherwise silent and still air.

"DAMN!" a voice cursed beside me and I felt a gentle touch on my cheek. I knew who it was; I just couldn't put my finger on it… "Sorry, Kagome," the voice whispered, full of pain. The person sounded wildly upset. "This is all my fault…"

Inuyasha. I gave a silent cry of triumph when I got the name right.

_That's right…we were trying to get Inuyasha to leave Kimi when she attacked us…that's what happened…_

"She will be all right, Inuyasha-Sama, that's what Kaede-Sama said," a small voice said suddenly. Rin. "Remember? Kaede-Sama said that it'll just be a while before Kagome-Chan wakes up. Rin heard."

"Keh! Go find some herbs or something, kid," Inuyasha growled tone angry. "I'll watch over Kagome."

"Calm down, Inuyasha. No need to be so mean to poor Rin," a deeper voice said. Miroku. "It's not her fault Kagome got injured. How are your own injuries? Those ones from the bear demons did get reopened."

_Inuyasha's hurt?_ I wondered silently, struggling to remain aware of things. Maybe I could use my spiritual powers to help me…? I decided to give it a try.

I concentrated as much as I could, focusing on using my powers to become more aware, otherwise known as waking up.

It worked.

I groaned and opened my eyes, allowing my powers to spark my energy level up.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed, whipping around and leaning over me again. His golden eyes gleamed anxiously, surprising me with their guilt filled gaze.

"I'll go tell Kaede-Sama," Rin said smugly, smiling brightly and waving at me before turning and scrambling out of the hut. "Come on, Hoshi-Sama. We can tell Sango-Chan and Shippo-Chan, too!" "I'm coming, Rin," Miroku sighed, picking up his staff and starting out of the hut, leaving me and Inuyasha alone.

"Sorry, Kagome," Inuyasha croaked softly, his eyes full of guilt and worry. "It's my fault you got hurt again. I promised to protect you with my life…and you almost died…"

I blinked in surprise at the raw pain in his tone. Then I smiled and reached up, touching his cheek with the tips of my fingers. "It's okay…" I murmured, meeting his gaze. He growled, ears flattening against his skull. "No! It's not! I almost got you killed!"

I sighed, closing my eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and saying, "But you didn't know that Kimi was planning a sneak attack, did you. It's not your fault, Inu-" I broke off with a sudden gasp, as pain seared up my spine.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha growled, his ears going so flat that it looked as if he had no ears at all.

The pain grew and grew until it was unbearable. "Hurts…" I gasped stiffening and hoping it would help against the pain.

Inuyasha looked distressed, as he didn't know what to do. "Hold on until Kaede comes, Kagome! She'll help! Okay?!"

I didn't reply, as I had faded back into unconsciousness.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**(Everyone else's POV)**

Inuyasha snarled when Kagome passed out in pain. He rocketed over to the door flap and checked outside for the others. There was no sign of them. _No! She has to be okay! This can't be like the time with Kikyo! Damn it!_ He swiftly returned to Kagome's side, noticing with a snarl that her breathing was labored. "Kagome…" he mumbled, his gaze darkening. "You've got to be okay…"

Her breathing became shallower.

Inuyasha growled, and then slapped his hand to his neck at a stinging sensation. "What the- Myouga! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Master Inuyasha," Myouga the flea demon greeted after becoming not so flat. "I heard that our dear Kagome returned and came to see for myself. What happened to her though?"

"Sesshomaru's damn mom happened," he snarled back harshly, fisting his hands. "I'll kill her…" He trailed off with a start as Kagome's breathing stopped completely. "Kagome? Kagome! KAGOME!" he yelled, gently shaking the woman. _Damn it! She's…this…it's like Mukotsu all over again, damn it!_ "Master Inuyasha?" Inuyasha ducked his head, bangs covering his eyes as he threw the flea away from him. "She's…" he murmured. Then he flew out of the hut with a snarl. He unsheathed Tetsusaiga and let loose a wind scar of frustration and grief, though it didn't help one bit. _"Damn it all!"_

Myouga, who had recovered, leaped over to Kagome thoughtfully. "Kimi, huh? Mistress Kimi has poison like Sesshomaru, but not as bad as that poison gas…maybe I can help with this…" he bit into her neck and began sucking Kagome's blood -and the poison- out.

Meanwhile, Miroku -who had been on his way back to the hut with Kaede- stopped when he saw the enormous blast of the Wind Scar. "Kaede, we should hurry," He said urgently. "I believe something has happened to Kagome."

"Aye," Kaede agreed, struggling to speed up in her old age. "I fear that -if Kimi's poison is like Sesshomaru's- it is too late for Kagome."

"You mean…?"

"Yes, Miroku. Kagome has probably died."

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

_Crash!_

I felt as if a film had been lifted from over me. I could hear the angry roaring of -what else? - the Wind Scar, soaring multiple times. Finding I could breathe again, I took a shuddering breath.

"Kagome!" A small voice beside my ear exclaimed.

"M…Myouga," I forced out, opening my eyes. I once again began drawing on my spiritual powers. "Where's…Inuyasha?"

"He thinks your dead and is recklessly throwing his sword around," Myouga replied. "It was just as what happened with the Band of Seven's poison master. I sucked out all of Kimi's poison! The late Master didn't have poison, so that passed onto Sesshomaru by Kimi. Do you feel alright, Kagome?"

"Thanks…Myouga," I stammered, forcing a smile. "Go get…him."

Myouga nodded and disappeared.

A moment later, Kaede came into the hut with a dark look on her face. "Oh! So we were wrong…you're alive, Kagome!" Her lined face lit up with a delighted smile and she knelt beside me. "Do not worry, child, Miroku went after Inuyasha before he killed everyone…what's wrong, Miroku?"

Miroku burst into the hut, gasping for breath. "Not…good. Inuyasha's gone full demon," he announced. "He got irritated and threw away Tetsusaiga. I think the anger and grief got to him, triggering a transformation."

My eyes widened. Inuyasha was full demon! "Mir…oku," I mumbled, trying to gain control of my limbs. "I need…to get…to…him."

"You're alive!" Miroku looked genuinely pleased as well as relieved. "But I don't think you should be moving…"

"I need…to get to him." I managed. "You can't…stop…his trans…formations…"

"Alright," Kaede said hesitantly. "Miroku, fetch Kirara. She will be safer for Kagome to ride on then a horse. Sango and you can take her to Inuyasha, I'm sure? This old woman would not be able to manage…"

"Yes, I'll hurry," Miroku said with a serious tone. He scrambled out of the hut as fast as he could.

"Come, Kagome," Kaede said, gently helping me to my feet. I leaned heavily on the elderly woman, the world tilting around me. We made it outside and I was surprised to see our friends already waiting.

"Kagome!" Sango called softly, anxiously examining me. "You okay?" I gave a nod. "Then let's go stop Inuyasha before he does something he regrets. He was heading in the direction of Kimi…"

I climbed on Kirara with Kaede and Sango's help, slumping forward between her shoulder blades. "Thanks…San…go…" I stammered, sliding my eyes shut to nap while we traveled.

Sango nodded. "Kirara!"

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"There he is!"

My eyes slowly slid open at those words and I dizzily raised my head as Miroku called out, "Inuyasha! Over here! Look!"

As sick as I was feeling, I couldn't suppress the shiver of fear that flew up my spine as I saw Inuyasha whirl around with a feral snarl, long fangs bared. As Miroku had said, his eyes were full of anger and grief. His gaze traveled from Miroku, to Sango, then locked on me. A loud growl ripped from his throat as he raised a clenched fist.

"Inu…yasha!" I mumbled, struggling to get off of Kirara. Sango swiftly helped me off. I staggered slightly as my feet hit the ground. I struggled over to him, noticing with a slight amount of fear that his red eyes traveled as I moved-still locked on me. When I reached him, I shakily wrapped my arms around his chest. "I'm…okay…"

His chest vibrated with another snarl.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: -_- So tired, but still have other stories to write…-sighs-**

**Inuyasha: -unsheathes Tetsusaiga- Then go to sleep.**

**City: O_O I think…I'm okay without sleeping, Inu.**

**Kagome: -sighs- Inuyasha…**


	14. Made It

**A/N: Well, I'm still exhausted. -Sighs- But I had a blast at a place called Bear Country! I saw some wolves and a bunch bears and a grizzly came this (…) close to our car and it was so cute seeing baby bears wrestle. Apparently they have to separate the babies from the parents because the males kill the cubs and the females steal others' cubs…Anyhow, disclaimers!**

**Inuyasha: O_O There's demons?! Where?!**

**City: No, they were regular bears.**

**Shippo: Like this! -transforms-**

**Inuyasha: There's one! -takes off after Shippo with Tetsusaiga-**

**City: Excuse me for a moment…**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Inuyasha…" I gasped, fumbling to keep a tight grip around his chest. "I'm…fine…'kay? Please…calm down." I winced as his arms moved…and wrapped around me. His breath gave in harsh gasps.

"K…Kagome!" He mumbled, his grip tightening considerably as he tightened his hold on me. I noted that he still wasn't back to normal -with his usual half-demon blood- but he still seemed to recognize me.

"I'm alive!" I gasped at him, fisting my hands in his kimono. "Please, Inuyasha…go back to normal…before you hurt some…one."

A growl ripped through his fangs again; I could almost see his red eyes becoming bewildered, even furious. I whimpered in fear and anxiety. _Come on, this has got to work! It worked in Kaguya's castle, it can work now! Especially since I'm not dead!_

"Did it work?" Sango's question rang through the air…and caused Inuyasha to snap.

Inuyasha snarled, turning on our two friends. A growl tore from deep within his chest and he released me, immediately going for Sango. The sudden disappearance of the steady person keeping me up caused me to topple to the ground.

"Kirara!" Miroku cried, using his staff to block Inuyasha's attack. "Go! He's obviously not going back…we need to get the Tetsusaiga!"

Sango nodded, glancing over at me anxiously. "Kagome, I believe he's protecting you now…we'll be back with the Tetsusaiga, got it? Just…keep calm, and… you know, see if you can get him to get back to normal!"

"I'll try," I rasped back as they took off on Kirara, narrowly avoiding Inuyasha's razor sharp claws.

Inuyasha glared after them, growling furiously. His gaze turned back on me and I winced. The fury in them faded, surprising me by being replaced with an almost fierce gentleness. I winced when he stalked over, anticipating his claws to run through me. Instead, he dropped beside me, his ears swiveling madly. He growled, his eyes flickering from place to place.

"Inu…yasha?" I whispered fearfully, struggling to sit up. "Listen to me," I urged quietly. "You need…to go back to normal. You might…might hurt one of our friends, Inuyasha!" I told him, my voice becoming stronger by the moment. Maybe I could purify him…?

His red eyes narrowed as another growl came from him. I managed to give a small smile. "I'm okay, alright, Inuyasha? It…It just hurts a little bit. But Myouga saved me. And our…our friends are…trying…to help us." I said softly, forcing him to meet my gaze.

Inuyasha made a grumbling sound, and I almost giggled. Okay, he was full demon and highly dangerous at the moment…but…

You had to admit. The fangs poking out over his lips and curious red eyes mixed with his puppy ears twitching and his classic Inuyasha position…he was adorable.

I forced down my amusement and concentrated on the task at hand. Then I remembered something…the moment at Kaguya's castle when I realized I would never love anyone other than Inuyasha. I had kissed him. I still did love him, so why not try it now? "Inuyasha?" He growled.

I lunged forward and pressed my lips firmly against his. He stiffened in surprise, his ears flattening against his head, but I ignored him and kept my lips against his. _Come on, Inuyasha, I'm alive!_

It worked!

His growl disappeared and red eyes turned golden. "K…Kagome?"

I smiled and threw my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. His arms automatically went around me, his golden eyes wide with surprise. "You're…okay?"

I nodded against him. "Mhmm. Myouga…saved me again, Inuyasha." I mumbled out. A dog ear twitched, and I took it as a sign that someone was approaching. But instead of pulling away like I thought he would, he buried his face in my hair, breathing deeply.

"Kagome, we got the…Tetsusaiga…" Sango's voice trailed off when she probably saw Inuyasha and me. "You got him back to normal!" She sighed in relief.

Inuyasha growled and shot Sango a dirty look. "You saying I wasn't normal before?"

"You went full demon," I murmured quietly, knowing he would hear it.

Inuyasha went quiet for a moment, glancing at me. Then Miroku yelled, "Here!" and tossed something. Inuyasha easily caught it, looking confused for a moment, and then his gaze darkened.

"That's right," he said aloud. "I thought Kagome died…so I got pissed off and started using it. Then I threw it away 'because it wasn't helping…and then everything is blank."

"As Kagome said, you went full demon, Inuyasha, and you started heading west," Miroku explained. "I went with Kaede to Kagome, and we found her alive. We told her what was going on and she demanded we bring her to you to help calm you down. When we got here, she tried to keep you under control, but you attacked us. So we left to get Tetsusaiga," he said, glancing at Sango when she gave him a light jab on the arm.

"Do you two want to be left along for a while?" Sango asked gently, smiling. She had a knowing expression in her eyes without any sign of teasing.

I opened my mouth to say it was fine, that we didn't, but Inuyasha shocked me by muttering, "Yeah."

**(~A/N: Excuse the interruption but O_O Ichigo (I'm watching Bleach) just got four stabs in the chest…ouch…~)**

Sango flashed me another smile and I noticed with a small blush that Inuyasha still had his face buried in my hair, crushing me against him. "Alright then. Come on, Miroku, and if I hear one word about this from you, I will get Hiraikotsu."

Miroku groaned and clambered onto Kirara again. "Yes, Sango…"

When they were gone, I heard Inuyasha let out a long sigh, as if he'd been stressed out and finally relieved of the work. Then his grip around me tightened to the point where I almost couldn't breathe. "Kagome…"

"Yeah?"

"I…I'm glad…you're okay," He murmured in my ear, his voice rough with emotion.

I was shocked. Inuyasha never showed this much emotion. He was usually the arrogant, annoying, irritating, 'sit-worthy' Inuyasha we all knew too well. I smiled, enjoying the warmth of the embrace. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything, Inuyasha. But…someday, I'm going to die whether you want me to or not, Inuyasha. You're half demon while I'm just plain human. I'll live not even a tenth of the time you will. I'll die one day, Inuyasha, and you won't be able to stop it from happening. When that happens…promise me that you won't go full demon again, okay?"

Inuyasha stiffened, but nodded. "Got it," he muttered, his tone slightly dark.

I grinned and pulled away. "Good." I said, struggling to stand up. I got to my knees, slowly so that my balance wouldn't be messed up when I stood completely. Not that it helped.

Inuyasha stood beside me, gazing down at me with a frown as I climbed to my feet and staggered to the side, almost toppling over again. "Kagome, you can't even stand up straight," he snorted, "so how the hell are you going to fight demons?"

"I'll be fine in a few days!" I hissed back, forcing myself into a steady position again.

"Keh! You humans take forever!"

"Sit!"

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Sango-Chan, Houshi-Sama, Kaede-Sama! Kagome-Chan and Inuyasha-Sama are back!" Rin called as Inuyasha and I appeared, me riding on Inuyasha's back drowsily.

My hands clutched his shoulders gently, my chin on his shoulder. "Hey, guys," I mumbled, my eyes remaining shut. I was exhausted after the day's events.

"Kagome, you're okay!" Shippo cried, jumping onto Inuyasha's other shoulder. Inuyasha shot him a growl and the _kitsune_ jumped to Sango's shoulder. "Jeez, Inuyasha, be nice!"

"Don't be so grumpy," I murmured to the half-demon as he stalked past them.

"Keh!"

"Where are you going?" Sango called, sounding confused.

"I'm taking Kagome to our home!" Inuyasha shouted back, ears flattening against his head defensively. "Gotta problem with that?"

"Home…" I murmured to myself. _Our home…I like the sound of that._ I smiled and let my cheek press against Inuyasha's. Inuyasha glanced at me, then smirked and leaned on mine in return.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: :D So I got a sweet moment in there ^_^ Now I gotta figure out what happens next…-_- Anyhow, thoughts?**


	15. Demon Hoard: Part I

**A/N: Alright :D So I'm tired, but bored, so I hope you all enjoy this! Disclaimers!**

**Inuyasha: -growls- Shut it! You'll wake Kagome up!**

**Kagome: -_- I've been awake, Inuyasha. I'm sitting right here.**

**Sango: -yawns- what's all the commotion about? Is there a demon?!City: ^_^" I'm sorry Sango-Chan. No demons…**

**Sango: -eye twitches and grabs Hiraikotsu-**

**Inuyasha: -laughs as I run off screaming-**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Kagome, are you sure you're okay?" Shippo asked anxiously, his green eyes glittering with anxiety and worry. "You almost died yesterday, you need rest!" I laughed and waved him off with a hand. "I'm fine, Shippo. I need to do something before I explode, though!"

"Okay, Kagome, but don't let Inuyasha catch you, or he'll -"

"What the hell are you doing?! You should be resting!" The said Inuyasha snarled as he ducked into our hut. "I'll tie you down if I have to!" I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Sit boy. I'll do whatever I want." Inuyasha yelped as the beads began the familiar down fall to the ground. Lifting his face from the wooden floors, he growled, "What did I _do_?!"

"You won't let me get up and walk around," I replied back, heading for the entrance of the hut.

Inuyasha was instantly blocking it, golden eyes burning furiously. "If you go out, you might get hurt again! No!"

I groaned. As nice as it was having him more affectionate…there were times when he was _way_ too soft. Like now. "Inuyasha, if you're so worried, you can come with me and Shippo, okay?" I said, easily ducking under his arms. I made it into the open and breathed in the fresh air deeply. Then I glanced over my free shoulder, as Shippo sat on the other one. "We're going to Sango's, 'kay, Inuyasha? I want to play with Yutaka, and Shippo can keep Mai and Miu busy."

"Be careful," Inuyasha spat, disappearing within the hut angrily.

I smiled and started walking towards the hut that Miroku and Sango owned, wrapping my midnight blue kimono tighter around me. Winter was approaching quickly, and the crisp air was coming.

We were about half way there when I froze. "Shippo, do you feel that?"

"Yeah," Shippo replied, tail bristling. "That's a lot of demons, Kagome."

"I hope Inuyasha's okay…" I murmured, reaching over my shoulder to grab an arrow. But there wasn't one. I cursed. "The one day we're getting a massive demon attack, I forget my bow! What's wrong with me?!"

"I'll go warn Sango and Miroku, you go find a bow and some arrows, Kagome," Shippo said, then jumped off my shoulder and towards Sango's hut in the distance.

I nodded and darted towards the closest hut. "Excuse me?" I asked, gently knocking on the hut's wall.

"Hello," an elderly woman greeted curiously. "Can I help you, Kagome-Sama?"

"Hello Hiroko-Oba-San. Could you please lend me a bow if you own one? There's a large demonic aura, and I need to help Inuyasha…" I said breathlessly.

"Of course, Kagome-Sama," Hiroko smiled gently, disappearing into her house. She reappeared a moment later with a bow and a large quiver full of arrows. "Here you are. Please, defend us as you used to do, Kagome-Sama. My daughter is expecting her first child any day now, and I do not wish for her to be killed!"

"I will try my best, Hiroko-Oba-San," I reassured the elderly woman, and then scrambled in the direction of the demonic aura that was gathering. I stumbled for a moment, pain rushing up my spine again. But I forced myself to ignore it and continue forwards.

A little bit later, Kirara appeared beside me with a roar. Shippo was on her back. "Where's Sango and Miroku, Shippo?" I called to him, jumping onto Kirara's back.

"They're going to find and warn Inuyasha," Shippo said in reply. "But I'm kinda scared. Sango said she was going to tell him you were out here and going to help," he added.

I groaned. "Just what I need. The jerk's going to make me go run and hide. I'm done with that now," I said angrily, knocking an arrow and forcing some of my energy to it. "Come on, Kirara! Let's show Inuyasha we're more than just a helpless couple of lumps!"

Kirara roared and plunged into a field, landing with a light thump.

I swallowed nervously. Dozens and dozens of demons were appearing. Weasels, coyotes, bears, birds…even a bull demon. _What's drawing them to us?_ I gasped, preparing to fire an arrow.

There was a snarl behind me and all hell broke loose.

Inuyasha darted from the bushes with a growl. "What the hell are you doing?!" he growled, throwing a well aimed Wind Scar at the demons. I followed up with an arrow.

"Helping," I hissed back. "They're going to attack the village if we don't stop them, Inuyasha! I can't let them kill innocent people, rather if I get hurt or not! Battling demons…you're going to get hurt eventually, right? Now stop arguing with me and let's kill some of them!"

Demons broke from the tree line, separating me and Inuyasha. I shot arrows left and right, my heart racing with adrenalin. It was like a tornado of demons! I heard a yell of pain and gasped. "Inuyasha!" I called desperately.

"_Ha, a single mortal girl," _a voice suddenly said smugly as a demon reared over me. _"You will make a fine supper…"_

"Hiraikotsu!"

The said giant boomerang sliced through the demon and the demon disintegrated.

"Thanks, Sango!" I yelled, firing another arrow.

"No problem!" She called back, throwing Hiraikotsu again. "Kirara, keep Kagome safe, or Inuyasha will never let us hear the end of it!"

I laughed with a slightly hysterical edge. "I'll be fine! Shippo, do me a favor! I need you to go see if Inuyasha's okay! Can you-" I fired an arrow at an approaching demon, "do that? Please?" "On it, Kagome!" Shippo exclaimed determinedly. He jumped off and disappeared in a cloud of demons.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Oh, no!" I cried an hour later, fatigued and out of arrows. "My arrows are gone!" I found a few on the ground and desperately scrambled for them. I rescued them and managed to place them in my quiver.

"Kagome, look out!" Miroku's voice suddenly rang out.

I whipped around, reaching for another arrow as a demon lunged for me. I flinched and screwed my eyes shut, preparing for the final blow.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**I'm gonna go to bed now, so forgive me ^_^ Wait till the next chapter :D It's so gonna be epic ^_^**

**Inuyasha: Keh! Kagome better not get hurt again.**

**City: I dunno what'll happen. I haven't decided yet.**

**Inuyasha: -growls and stalks off-**


	16. Demon Hoard Part II

**A/N: So I decided to do a little poll on whether or not I should do some one-shot song fics based off of the Inuyasha songs that have English versions… I studied the lyrics to some of the songs yesterday and cried because it completely matches their story. So please vote! ^_^**

…**anyways, disclaimers and enjoy!**

**Inuyasha: -reads poll- 'Change the World'? 'My Will'? What the hell are those?**

**City: Songs.**

**Kagome: -sighs- Let me explain what songs are Inuyasha…**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"_Wind Scar!"_

My eyes flew open as Inuyasha's attack soared over the demon that had been about to attack me. "Inuyasha!" I gasped, hurrying over to the half-demon. "Thanks!"

"Damn woman," Inuyasha growled, glancing at me as I appeared at his side before swinging his sword again. "I thought you said you were stronger than before you left for three damn years."

"So did I," I muttered, knocking a reusable arrow. I fired it a demon that moved in to attack us.

Inuyasha suddenly grunted and I whipped my head around to find a demon having sliced deep into his shoulder. "Inuyasha!"

"I'm fine, damn it," he cursed, swinging his sword and easily slicing the demon in half. "Kagome, be careful, okay?"

"Why?" I asked, shooting another arrow with a glare as yet another demon attacked. My arrow hit the demon square in the chest and, with a pink light, dissolved into ash.

"Damn it," Inuyasha cursed, throwing an Adamant Barrage in the direction of a few demons. To our relief, they were starting to thin out. "Cause I want you to be my mate, got it, wench?"

I gaped at him. He was practically asking me to marry him…in the middle of a battle! "Fine, but we gotta get through this battle first," I announced with a small smile. I fired another arrow, and then another, a new resolve burning in my veins. I would survive this and so would Inuyasha…and then I would be his wife. No chance of anyone changing that. No way would anyone change my chosen fate. I loved Inuyasha…and he loved me.

Inuyasha bared his fangs in a grin. "These small fry? Keh! They're easy!" As if to prove his point, he swung a Wind Scar at a huddle of them, rescuing an overwhelmed Sango.

"Thanks!" Sango gasped, raising Hiraikotsu…only to almost drop it. She scrambled for it, and I realized with a shock that I was becoming just as fatigued as she and Miroku probably were.

"We need o finish this soon," I murmured to myself, firing the very last arrow. It caused several demons to burst into ash, and then I had to figure out what else I could do without arrows…coming up with nothing. "Inuyasha, I'm out of arrows!"

"Find something!" Inuyasha growled, ears flattening against his skull as he swung Tetsusaiga yet again.

"I can't just put my powers into a random thing!" I snapped back. How ironic. Two seconds into an engagement and I'm already fighting with him.

"Don't bother," Miroku suddenly called, using his staff to cut the head off a demon. "There's only…" he obviously counted, because he continued. "…four left; one for me, one for Sango, and two for Inuyasha."

"How fair," Inuyasha growled sarcastically, easily taking out his two demons while our friends took out the remainder.

Now we were surrounded by many corpses of demons. Yuck. I squealed with disgust as demon blood oozed over my foot. "Ew!"

"Keh! You wimp," Inuyasha snickered, jumping over a corpse and landing by my side. "You've been through worse and you're disgusted by a little bit of blood?"

"Shut up!" I snapped, sniffing and turning away. "So what? I'm a girl! Girls are generally more grossed out by stuff like that."

"But…Sango's not," Inuyasha pointed out.

"I'm not Sango, am I, Inuyasha?" I said through gritted teeth, forcing myself not to sit him into an early grave. "Can we go home now? I'm tired, and…oof!" I was shocked when exhaustion hit me suddenly; I had used a lot of power. I almost toppled over.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha growled, his eyes becoming full of concern. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine." I waved it off, staggering a few steps. "Stupid…demons drained me…" I muttered under my breath.

"You sure?" Sango said softly, appearing at my side. Miroku was leaning on her slightly, blood dripping from a wound on his arm. "In that case, let's head back."

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement with a yawn.

"Get on," Inuyasha sighed, kneeling down in front of me.

I smiled and climbed onto his back, burying my face in his neck as he started walking forwards.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"I just need a nap," I said as Shippo bounded over warily. "I'm not hurt, just tired."

"Are you sure, Kagome?" Shippo exclaimed, climbing onto Inuyasha's shoulder. "You could get hurt more if you're lying!"

"I'm not lying, Shippo," I replied, starting to become impatient with the fretting _kitsune_ child. "I'm just tired. Inuyasha protected me.

"Okay…Sango! Miroku! Did you get hurt!?" Shippo rushed off to meet the other two remaining people.

I saw Inuyasha's ears twitch towards me as I sighed and murmured, "Inuyasha, I'm going to sleep as soon as we get back. Then we can discuss this 'becoming your mate thing', okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," He muttered, his ears now swiveling forward at the sound of applause coming from the villagers as they gathered near the front of the village.

"You saved us!" "All those demons…" "Is anyone hurt?"

"Thank you!"

Multiple people said multiple things, but I just smiled and rested my chin on my lover's shoulder, pressing my cheek against his just because I could.

**A/N: It was short, yes, and I apologize for that, but I thought it was a good ending spot. I want to thank HarleyQuinn405, who gave the idea of the proposing in the middle of a battle ^_^ Thoughts?**

**Inuyasha: Fuck you.**

**City: O_O Jeez, Yash, I knew you had a bad mouth but you **_**never**_** -as my brother would say- drop the 'f' bomb.**

**Kagome: Inuyasha! **

**Inuyasha: What?**

**Kagome: Sit!City: -bursts into evil laughter- sucker!**


	17. The Stream

**A/N: Hello again! I got the Hunger Games last night at midnight and was put in a good mood after winning a three hour monopoly game, so I decided to write! ^_^ Disclaimers, thanks to reviewers, and enjoy!Inuyasha: Monopoly? The Hunger Games? What the hell are you talking about? And what's 'midnight'?**

**City: -rubs temples- Monopoly is a game with money, the Hunger Games is a book/movie, and midnight is the middle of the night, Yash.**

**Inuyasha:…keh!**

**Kagome: -sighs- Inuyasha… I will never be able to explain the modern world to you.**

**Inuyasha: -growls- I hate your world! It smells!**

**City: -shoves into well- Then go home and let the readers read!**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"How's your shoulder?" I asked Inuyasha, gently touching his shoulder with a small smile as he looked over at me. "I should change the bandages."

Inuyasha scoffed, shrugging my hand off with a growl and roll of his eyes. "I'm fine, damn it."

I sighed, shaking my head and giving one of his ears a tug. "If I don't treat your wounds, Inuyasha, they'll hurt worse and you'll be in pain for days on end."

"…no."

Huffing, I climbed to my feet and smirked, giving him the look I usually did before giving the command. "If it doesn't hurt so much…sit."

Inuyasha let out a loud yelp and snarl as he hit the ground, his ears flattening as he waited for the spell to wear off. Then he leaped to his feet, growling. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I was making sure you weren't hurt enough to die," I scoffed, ducking out of the hut with the half-demon on my heels. "Now go and do whatever, I'm just going to get some water, Inuyasha."

"Like hell you are," he growled. "There might still be demons around."

"And I have my bow and arrows."

"And you pass out after using too much of your powers."

"I'll be fine."

"No."

"Inuyasha…"

"I said no, damn it!"

"… I will 'it' you into an early grave if you don't go back inside right now," I seethed, glaring at him furiously. "The stream's less than a kilometer away, I have my bow and arrows and my spiritual powers; I think I'll be fine."

Inuyasha snorted. "You always say that and then end up getting hurt."

"And you don't?" I said sarcastically. "Now, I'm going whether you want me to or not. I'll be back in a bit, alright? I just need some water to clean up your wound some more." Without another word, I turned and walked in the direction of the stream, shouldering my weapons in the process. I shook my head as soon as I was out of sight. _Silly Inuyasha…there's no demons by the stream; there's some kind of barrier provided by Kaede so villagers can safely get water._

Upon reaching the stream, I chuckled and knelt beside the water, lowering the bucket into it. "Told him I would be fine," I scoffed.

A stick cracked.

I immediately whirled around, an arrow knocked and pointed…to find Sango. "Don't do that," I complained, lowering my arrow and bow. "You scared me."

"Sorry," Sango chuckled, shifting Yutaka from her back and into her arms. "I needed water and Miroku took the girls out to play, so I brought him with me," she explained when she saw my surprised look. "How's Inuyasha?"

I snorted. "Stubborn like usual. He didn't want me to come to the stream by myself, so I had to threaten him. And he didn't want me changing bandages, so I told him to sit to show- Inuyasha!" I yelled, leaping to my feet and dropping my bucket of water as the said half-demon hit the ground less that a foot from Sango. "What are you doing? I told you to stay in the hut!"

Sango, not hearing my words, went into overprotective mode. She removed Hiraikotsu from where it was hanging at her side and swung it at him. Inuyasha had to scramble backwards against the spell to avoid being cut in half.

"Sango," I gasped, darting over. "Just Inuyasha, who is just as bad as Miroku!" I added, shooting a scowl at him.

"Keh!" Inuyasha snapped, though his eyes were wide with surprise. "You weren't bathing or nothing!"

"And I told you to stay home!" I shot back.

"Keh!"

Sango sighed, rubbing her temples. "Look, you two. I came here to get some water and perhaps relax by the stream. But I can now see that will never happen. I am going to take my son, leave, and go home to sleep and hopefully rest for a good while. You two lovers do whatever you two usually do -Kami help us- in that little hut of yours at night. Goodbye." She turned and stalked away.

It took us both a few seconds to decipher what she had said. Then Inuyasha let out a snarl after her and I buried my face in my hands, my cheeks flaming. "Oh Kami, did she just…I can't believe…Sango of all people!"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at me. "What's wrong, Kagome?" He taunted. "Breaking your promise?"

I shook my head and sighed, touching his cheek. "Inuyasha, I'll admit this: you are getting on my last nerve right now. But I love you, and I agreed to become your mate. So that'll happen."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise at my sudden change of conversation. "Weren't you just complaining about Sango?"

I threw my arms in the air and stalked away. "Inuyasha, you're hopeless!"

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: Just a fun, fluffy chapter :3**

**Inuyasha: How the hell was it fluffy?**

**City: Didn't we push you down the well?**

**Inuyasha:…keh!**

**City: -sighs- Anyhow, I have a huge question for you all :3 I am considering making a novel companion to the Inuyasha show and movies. I have a poll set up for this (on which ones and if I should or not), so if you would pretty please vote on it. I believe that is all…thanks for reading and next chapter will come…whenever it comes. XD**


	18. Explanations

**A/N: So school started again ;-; -sobs- But second day of school became an early release because of the intense heat ^_^ And we had a completely random two minute rainstorm earlier…anyhow, I hope you enjoy!**

**Inuyasha: …keh! Wimp! It's not that hot out!**

**City: -pushes out of Kagome's house and onto pavement-**

**Inuyasha: -yelps and runs to well house-**

**City: That's what I thought! Disclaimers and enjoy!**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"So…"

I sighed and rubbed my temples. "What do you want, Miroku."

"Is Sango right?" Miroku asked, sitting next to me. "You and Inuyasha are going to be mates?"

I nodded.

Inuyasha had gone to help hunt for food with Shippo and Sango, and Miroku had been left behind with me to watch his children. Guess I might as well learn what the difference was between mating and marriage…

"Miroku?" I asked, leaning against the wall and crossing my ankles. "Please tell me you know any differences between your guys' marriage and the one I'm going to experience."

"You're not getting married," Miroku replied, "you're getting mated to Inuyasha. Huge difference."

"Explain the said difference…"

"Hmmm…" Miroku tapped his chin thoughtfully. "As you know, human marriages are easily broken." I nodded and he continued. "Demon matings are…complicated. If Koga was to come after you after your mating to Inuyasha, he'd be one dead wolf. Demon matings are deeper than human marriages, Kagome. He marks you as his while you're 'mating', and you're his for life. No backing out what so ever. 'Course, I doubt you'd want to back out."

I had begun blushing furiously at this point. "You mean…"

He nodded. "Yep. You'll have to mate with our half-demon friend, my dear Kagome."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "Alright, what else."

"Might want to be careful not to anger him when you're getting close to being his mate. He'll go full demon in an instant…well, that's more of a rule for us. That and we'll be staying as far away as we can," Miroku announced.

I sighed and let out a small groan. "You have got to be kidding me." "Nope." "Kagome! Miroku! We're back!" "Chow time!" Miroku announced with a grin.

I stood and followed him outside.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Inuyasha," I sighed in exasperation, gently smacking the back of his head. "That's not how you do it."

"Then how?" the half-demon complained. "It's so hard…"

"It's not that hard," I huffed, glowering at him.

"How is it not hard?" He snapped irritably. "Come on, wench, you try it."

I scowled at him, rubbing my arms at the brisk cold that filled the air. Winter was definitely coming. "No! I'm trying to teach you so you can do it more in the future."

Inuyasha shot me a strange look from where he sat beside me. "Why the hell would I need to learn how to cook, wench?"

**~A/N: Admit it-some of you were thinking like Miroku XD~**

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Come on, Inuyasha. Cooking can be…useful sometimes. You know, like when you're going somewhere with Miroku and won't be back before dusk. Then you might want to know how to cook because Miroku sure doesn't know how. Sango cooks for him."

Inuyasha's ears twitched as he shot me a glare. "Wench, if I wanted to know how to cook, I would have learned a long time ago."

I ignored him and said, "Stir that pot."

He obeyed and I smirked. "I'm only doing this so you don't tell me to 'sit', you know this right?" Inuyasha said, suspicion lining his tone.

"Sadly," I sighed in reply, leaning over and kissing his cheek. He froze in reply, blinking in surprise as I laughed and pulled back.

Inuyasha scowled again. "Kagome…" he whined, ears flattened.

"Yes….?" I replied, taking the ladle from him and stirring more.

Inuyasha huffed, shoving his hands into his sleeves. "D…don't do that!"

"Don't do what?"

"…you know!"

I smiled slightly. "Kiss your cheek?"

"Yeah!"

"And why not?" I replied. "You said you wanted me to be your 'mate', so why not?" "…keh!" came his reply.

I sighed. _Inuyasha and his stupid ideas…_ I huffed and dished out the stew I had been teaching him to make. "Let's test it." I said, handing him a pair of chopsticks.

He rolled his eyes, but took the chopsticks and bowl. "It's gonna taste bad, we both know it. So why are we bothering? I could easily run to Kaede's or Sango's…"

I ignored him again and gently took a bite.

Inuyasha's ears twitched and he became wary as I felt my lips twitch into a smile. "Don't look like that, wench."

I didn't answer.

"Wench?" He sounded slightly worried.

I grinned. "It tastes delicious, Inuyasha!" I told him, taking another bite. "Good job!"

Inuyasha blinked, taking a hesitant bite of his own. "It does…?"

I nodded and took a few more bites. "Of course! Tastes better than Sango's."

I could've sworn his eyes lit up with joy.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Yo, Kagome." I glanced at him, pausing in cleaning. "Yes, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha shifted his weight, obviously uncertain and uncomfortable. "Err…"

"What is it?" I asked, crossing my arms and looking at him curiously. "I'm not gonna bite."

Inuyasha took in a deep breath, and then spoke in a large rush.

"Tonight'sthefullmoonandweshouldstart gettingreadyforbecomingmates becausedemonbloodisstrongero nthefullmoon."

I blinked. "What?"

Inuyasha looked irritated. "I said…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it again obviously.

"Talk," I commanded.

"It's the full moon," he said slowly. "Demons are stronger on the full moon and Miroku said it would be better for you to become my mate during the full moon for some reason."

I blinked, shocked. "_Oh_."

"…yeah," Inuyasha muttered, looking away.

"Err," I muttered, rubbing the back of my head. "Why don't I go talk to Sango about this…okay?"

He nodded and I scrambled over to my friend's.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: So Inu's going to finally be mates with Kags soon ^_^ lolz I'm a slow updater now…;-;**

**Inuyasha: Keh! This is so…**

**Shippo: Weird?**

**Sango: Strange?**

**Miroku: Amazing?Sango and Inuyasha: -Hits Miroku's head-**

**City: Anyhow, review please!**


	19. Mated

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the last chapter ^_^ And now, enjoy this one :3 Disclaimers!**

**Inuyasha: -pokes keyboard- What the hell is this?**

**Kagome: -face palm-**

**City: I use this to write about your adventures.**

**Inuyasha: -frowns- 'Adventures'? We were on a quest to get Shards and destroy Naraku!**

**City: Not in most of my stories :3 In one story, you're kind of dead right now.**

**Inuyasha: e.o**

**Koga: -dances- Yes! Kagome is mine!**

**City: O_O Who the hell let him in?! -looks around- I sure as hell didn't! He's not allowed in here! Not after what he did last time!**

**Koga: -points- I didn't do that.**

**City: Sure you did. -scowls- Wrote a whole story about you and Kags…I'm sorry, you're hilarious, but I disapprove of you two together. Now onto the story :D **

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

After speaking to Sango -who calmed me down immensely- I took a deep breath before returning to the hut I shared with Inuyasha. "Inuyasha…?" I said softly, entering the hut to find that he wasn't inside. I frowned. Where was he?

Then I heard a growl outside and sighed. Should've known better…I'd angered him. So he had gone to sulk on the roof.

I ducked outside then said, once again softly, "Inuyasha…come down."

"Why should I?" Inuyasha snapped, glaring up at the stars. "You obviously don't wanna be mates, so-"

My patience snapped. "I never said that. I just freaked out because I didn't realize I was going to be 'mated' to you so soon, Inuyasha! Now get down here before I say 'it'!"

Inuyasha, grumbling, sat up and then jumped down, landing lithely beside me. "Fine."

I smiled and then gently touched his cheek. "Inuyasha, I want to be your…mate, I do. I just got surprised and had to talk to Sango, alright?"

Inuyasha muttered something under his breath, and then sighed. "Fine. Go inside, I'll…be there in a moment."

I nodded, letting my fingers remain on his cheek for a moment before slipping inside, my heart racing.

I settled onto the ground next to the small, blazing fire, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I knew I had upset Inuyasha, and I felt terrible for it…but…

I was actually scared.

A few moments later, Inuyasha slipped inside.

"Hey," I said softly, hugging my knees and looking into the blazing fire. Inuyasha glanced at me and then returned to looking at the fire.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, reaching out and touching his shoulder. "I really didn't mean to make you think…I really do want to be your mate, Inuyasha. You mean more to me than my life. You just…surprised me at how sudden it was, alright?"

Inuyasha ignored me.

I glared at him. "Inuyasha…"

Ignorance.

"That's it. I'm saying the wor-" I was cut off when he suddenly lunged towards me, pressing his lips against mine. My eyes widened with shock as he gently parted his lips, breathing warm air onto my own. His tongue slid into my mouth and began caressing my own gently.

I smiled against him and closed my eyes, pressing harder against him.

Tonight…

…would be an interesting night.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

I woke up to warm arms wrapped around me, me pressed against someone's warm body. A soft purr like sound was in my ears, echoing in my mind. It was full of content…pride…and love.

I turned towards the owner of the voice to meet awake and open golden eyes. "Inuyasha, you're too loud," I complained teasingly, nuzzling closer.

My half-demon smirked, pressing a kiss to my head. "Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes and his arm snaked around my waist in a possessive manner.

"Ugh," I groaned, struggling to get away with a wince. "Get off; you're smothering me, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha huffed and muttered something under his breath as he removed his arm and sat up.

I sat up as well, giving a stretch before noticing Inuyasha staring at my -bare- chest. I blushed furiously, covering myself with my arms. "Inuyasha…" I said warningly.

Inuyasha growled and averted his gaze. "Fine." I slipped off the futon and headed straight for my clothes. After dressing, I went over to our food stash and began fixing up a breakfast. Inuyasha just flopped back down with his hands folded behind his head.

I rolled my eyes. "At least get dressed."

"Nope," Inuyasha said, grinning. "I gotta be ready in case my mate wants another go."

"Not today, buddy," I replied, rolling my eyes again and reaching up to touch the mark on my shoulder. Inuyasha growled from behind me and I smirked, lowering my hand as I began to boil some water.

"Kagome-Chan?" A voice called, followed by a knocking on the wall.

"Hey Sango! Might want to wait a moment," I called back. "Someone refuses to put their clothes on and there's a barrier at the wall from the Tetsusaiga that'll fry you at the door."

I heard Sango laugh as Miroku's voice said, "I doubt the Tetsusaiga would fry -DAMN THAT HURT!"

Miroku had apparently tried to get inside the door.

Inuyasha sighed, putting on his clothes before heading over and picking up his sword. "You can come in now."

Miroku was inside first, sighing. "Damn…I kind of wanted to see Kagome naked…"

Sango hit the back of his head as she came in with the two girls. "Inuyasha would kill you if that happened. Don't you know what newly-mated pairs are like, monk?"

Inuyasha wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "What the hell do you want?"

"We were just coming to see how you were doing," Miroku said, nursing the back of his head as Miu and Mai giggled and began to re-enact the scene that had just happened.

I giggled at the twins, then said to our two friends, "We're fine…you know what happened last night, I'm guessing?" Miroku flinched. "You should have felt the auras of you two clashing. It was so powerful; I think you scared off some demons."

I rolled my eyes as Inuyasha smirked and said, "Good. They'll know to leave us alone."

"So…" Miroku drawled as Sango scrambled after the twins when they darted out the door. "Are you planning on children?"

I blinked in surprise. "I…I'm not sure…" I stammered, noticing with a worried look as Inuyasha winced and looked at the ground. "Why?"

"You should have a few," Miroku said with a small smile, looking on as his wife brought their twins back in. "It's worth it."

We chatted with our friends for a while, and I shot Inuyasha worried glances as he remained quiet, looking down at the ground. When they left, though, I hugged him softly and murmured, "What's wrong?"

"Do you not want pups?" Inuyasha asked, sounding slightly hurt.

I couldn't help it; I burst into giggles. "Inuyasha," I laughed. "I just said I wasn't sure because I didn't know how you felt about the subject."

Inuyasha's face lit up in a stupid grin. "You want one?"

I smiled, rolling my eyes. "Sure, why not?"

Inuyasha smirked, leaning forward and brushing his lips against my own. "Good…'cause you have four and half months to get prepared."

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: Okay, so this was a horrible chapter ;-; But I really have no muse…plot twists anyone?**

**Koga: e.o You mean…**

**Kagome: o.o**

**Inuyasha: -smirks- Suckers. Did you not hear what I just told Kagome?**

**Shippo: Huh? And where am I?**

**Sango: -squeals-**

**Miroku: Yes!City: -_- Calm down, calm down. Yes, Inu meant Kags is pregnant, and Shippo, I'll have you come in next chapter.**

**Kagome: O_O **

**City: Hope you enjoyed!**


	20. Good News

**A/N: I have….returned :D Nah, I've been here. Just haven't had the will to write. XDInuyasha: -snorts- Damn. Get this over with.**

**City: -squirms- No flames…but…**

**Inuyasha: -pokes with claw- Say it.**

**City: -squirms even more- there might be only… a few chapters left?**

**Inuyasha: -explodes into strange victory dance, consisting of running in circles- YES!**

**Sango, Miroku, and Kagome: O.o Inuyasha….**

**City: e.o What. Was. That? **

**Inuyasha: -continues- It's almost over!**

**City: -begins bashing back of his head with side of axe- YOU SELFISH-**

**Kagome: -pounces- JUST CALM DOWN!**

**City: -smirks at unconscious Inu- Anyhow, enjoy this chapter and disclaimers! Also, I said MIGHT. That's just a possibility. XD**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

I blinked, eyes widening with shock as I twisted in his grip. "…what did you just say?" I said quietly.

Inuyasha became nervous, shifting slightly and pulling me closer. "I said, you have four and a half months to prepare for a pup…is that bad?" I gave a deep breath through my nose, anger spiking. It wasn't the fact that I was having Inuyasha's child -heck no! I was so excited; I wanted to scream it to the world! The problem was that he had decided to wait _until_ Sango and Miroku left to tell me. "You…"

Inuyasha froze at my tone of voice.

I tried again. "You waited nearly two hours to _tell me this?!_"

Now he was confused. "Wh-what?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Why didn't you tell me right away?" I whined. "Now I gotta go all the way down to Sango and Miroku's, tell them, go _all _the way to Kaede's, tell Kaede and Shippo, and then trek _all _the way back here!"

Inuyasha stared at me, and then burst out laughing. "You're angry because I 'didn't tell you soon enough'?! Damn woman, you scared me to Hell and back!" I smirked, poking his shoulder. "You should be scared," I sniffed, scrambling out of his arms and standing up, stretching slightly. "I still have the Beads of Subjugation around your neck, don't I?" It was his turn to smirk and he raised some familiar looking beads from the floor. "Actually, no, you don't, wench."

I blanched. "HOW THE HECK DID THIS HAPPEN!?"

Inuyasha tapped his chin with a devilish grin. "If I recall, you decided they were in 'our way', so you took 'em off."

I cursed myself, glowering at the beads. Then, before he could guess what I was doing, I snatched them away from him, already planning on how in the world I planned to get them back on him.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

I walked easily through the village, leaving Inuyasha behind as I headed towards Sango's to break the news to her. I was happy. Really. But…

How the heck were you supposed to prepare for a half-demon child in the time span of four and a half months when you've been raised on having nine?

I sighed, breaking into a smile and gently touching my stomach though. Inuyasha and I…we'd have our own family. It was nice to know.

"Sango!" I sang, ducking into her hut without bothering to knock. "I gotta tell ya something!" Miroku, who was propped up against a wall creating new sutras for his exterminations, glanced up. "Hello, again, Lady Kagome," he teased. "I didn't know you were so interested in seeing me again…"

I laughed and teased in reply, "You wish. Anyways, is Sango here? I have some news for you two…"

Miroku waggled his eyebrows. "Does this have to do with Inuyasha?"

I snorted, making the 'so-so' gesture with my hand. "In a demented sort of way."

Miroku laughed, going back to his sutras. "She'll be back in a few minutes. Mai decided to play in the mud."

I chuckled, twirling a piece of hair around my finger as I settled down and leaned against the wall near the doorway.

Eventually, my friend -and almost sister- finally slipped in with a wet Mai and Miu, carrying one in each arm. "Kagome!" She said, pleasantly surprised when she found me in her home. "What are you doing here? Didn't we just see you this morning?"

I laughed, looking up at her with a smile. "Yeah, but Inuyasha forgot to mention something to us all before you left…"

Sango sat down beside her husband, eyes eager. "Tell us more?"

I grinned. "You know I will, woman."

"Then speak," Miroku commanded, setting down his brush and propping his chin on his hand as he looked at me.

I laughed again, folding my hands in my lap. "Impatient, huh?" I teased. "Anyways, Inuyasha -being the inconsiderate jerk that he is at some times- forgot to mention that I'm already carrying -as he calls it- his 'pup'."

Silence…

More silence…

Even more silence…

I waved my hands in their faces. "Hey, are you two even alive?"

Sango exploded, shrieking and wildly clapping, her eyes sparkling. "Yay! That's great, Kagome! You're having a kid!" She scrambled up, throwing herself at me for a hug. "I'm so happy! Maybe, if it's a little girl," She began to babble happily. "She can marry my son!"

I snorted, patting her head. "Only you would think of that, Sango."

Miroku grinned, almost evilly, from his spot across the room. "Ha!" He cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "Now the bastard will know how it feels to be waken up early every morning before dawn by a child! And I'll be adding to it, too! He's always waking me up!"

I shot him a death glare. "Miroku, you wake him, you wake me up."

Miroku gulped and hid behind Sango after dragging her away.

Sango's laughter rang out as she teasingly kissed her husband's nose. "I'll protect you," she 'whisper-yelled'. "She'll never know what hit her!"

I pouted, but then broke into a smile. "Very funny." "Damn," a voice from outside whined gruffly. "Come on, wench, we have things to do."

"I love you, too, Inuyasha!" I called back.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: Damn! Thought I'd never get this up x-x and no thanks to the- -bursts into tears-**

**Sango: -hugs City- Excuse her folks, she's just incredibly happy.**

**City: -sniffles- Sorry, guys. There was a huge fire only a mile behind my house. Luckily… -bursts into more tears-**

**Miroku: Luckily, the fire people stopped it before it reached her house! **

**Shippo: -cheers-**

**City: -scrubs face- Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed :D …Kagome?**

**Kagome: Yes?**

**City: Where the hell is your husband? …Crap! Where's Kouga?! He vanished earlier!**

**Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo: O.O Fuck.**

**City: -knocks Shippo's head- You can't say that! -turns to Kagome and Sango- You two can't either! Miroku's a guy, so he can! Now, excuse us as we go find our missing…companions…**


	21. Rice

**A/N: Well… we did find Koga and Inuyasha…**

**Inuyasha: -huffs under breath- Stupid wench…**

**City: ^_^ Sit, my magnificent half-demon!**

**Inuyasha: -face plant-**

**Kagome: e,o**

**City: Disclaimers and enjoy! **

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

***4 Months Later***

I yawned, stretching slightly before rolling over and snuggling closer to Inuyasha, who had his arm wrapped tightly around me. I gave a content sigh. Inuyasha stirred slightly -I was shocked that he had decided to actually sleep for once- and I gently nuzzled my face against him.

Inuyasha nuzzled his own face into my hair, breathing deeply before giving a sigh.

I smiled. It wasn't very often I got to see him sleep. I'd seen him sleep…-I counted- maybe twenty times in the whole time I had known him? I don't know how many times for sure…

He looked absolutely peaceful, his eyes shut and a young boyish expression spread across his face. His ears swiveled every now and then in his sleep, his breathing soft and even. Though he was asleep, his arm remained wound around me.

I sighed. I hated having to ruin perfect moments, but…come on. I'm expecting a kid in half a month. I gently moved Inuyasha's arm-or tried to at least. It didn't budge. I squirmed; his grip tightened. Finally I gently poked him in the arm. "Inuyasha?"

He lazily opened his eyes, drowsy. "Huh?"

"Can you please let go?" I asked pointedly.

He just yawned and kissed my head before releasing me, turning onto his side and falling asleep again. I giggled. Wow. He's NEVER like this! I gently patted his head, giving his ear a quick rub before standing up and going outside.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

I smiled as I patted my fairly large belly, leaning heavily against the wall of our hut. Just another half month and I would be able to actually see the child. I smiled brightly. I couldn't wait! Though I apparently had terrible mood swings, Inuyasha had stuck by my side -almost literally, as everywhere I went, he went.

Inuyasha suddenly ducked outside, appearing beside me with a slight yawn. "Damn it, Kagome, what are you doing out here alone?" He demanded, glaring.

I rolled my eyes. "I wanted to watch the sun rise, that's all. It's not like I was all the way at Kaede's or Miroku and Sango's huts."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, his arm sliding around my waist. "Keh."

I took one hand and plucked his arm off of me, shooting him a glare. He ignored it and moved his arm to wrap around my shoulders. "Inuyasha," I threatened. "Get the hell off me."

Inuyasha released me, looking slightly startled. "Sorry…" he huffed, looking away.

I sighed, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "Love you!"

See what I mean about mood swings?

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

"Sango," I complained later that day, sitting comfortably beside my friend-almost-sister. "Make Miroku give me the food already."

Sango laughed. "Come on, Miroku, hand over the rice."

Miroku smirked. "But, my dear Sango, it's amusing to watch Kagome try and get it from me. It makes me almost miss your crazy self when you were having our kids…"

"Hand it over," I demanded, glaring at him. "I don't have to _not_ tell Inuyasha, you know."

"Kagome," Miroku scolded. "No using your husband and mate as a weapon. That isn't fair, especially when it's just because I won't give you the rice."

My lips quirked up in a smile. Not known to Miroku, Shippo happened to be sneaking up behind him, eyes locked on the precious rice in the monk's hand. _Keep him busy,_ Shippo mouthed. I giggled and nodded. "Sure I can, Miroku. Inuyasha would do anything I want him to."

"Keep dreaming, wench!" Inuyasha himself yelled down from the where he was on the roof, listening -and stalking me once again.

"If you don't," I called cheerfully. "I will bring those Beads back to Kaede."

Inuyasha went silent, but you could practically hear him sulking.

Shippo was right behind Miroku now, crouching down.

Miroku gave a sigh. "You can't threaten him with the Beads of Subjugation all the time either, Kagome. It's just not nice. You expecting his -as he would call it- his pup has you all messed up inside the hut, my dear."

_Now,_ I mouthed to Shippo.

Shippo suddenly pounced, snatching the rice out of Miroku's hand and racing over to me and Sango's side of the fire. Sango and I cheered, bursting into giggles. "Thank you, Shippo," Sango said, ignoring Miroku as he gaped silently. "That was very nice of you to get us the food from him."

Shippo grinned happily. "Can I have some, too?" I nodded. "It's only right, seeing as how Miroku refused to give it over and you rescued it for us."

Miroku groaned. "That was _my_ rice though…"

Sango raised an eyebrow at her husband. "Miroku, _dear_," she drawled out. "How about you go explain to _him_," she nodded at the furious Inuyasha, who had appeared just inside the door, "why you wouldn't let us have our food?"

Inuyasha glared coolly at the monk, stuffing his hands in his sleeves and raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean you wouldn't let my mate have the food?"

Miroku gave a nervous laugh. "I was just teasing…"

I sighed, patting my rounded belly again. Just another day with my new family…I sighed as Inuyasha hit the back of Miroku's head. It would be interesting to see what would happen while I was actually having the 'pup'. According to Sango…dog demons went crazy while their mates were having their children. I gave a faint smile.

Sango and I had a bet about that. Her bet: twenty coins that Inuyasha goes full demon out of worry and destroys half the village. My bet: Inuyasha merely tries to kill everyone besides Kaede within three miles…basically the same thing.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: This story is definitely drawing to a close :3 Next chapter or one after that, definitely. Sorry ^_^ Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed ^_^**

**Inuyasha: Bout damn time!**

**City: -sniffs- go die in a hole.**

**Inuyasha: -_-**


	22. Little One, Named Inuki

**A/N: This is the final chapter before the epilogue, just letting you know :3 Disclaimers!**

**Inuyasha: -dances-**

**City: -sighs- Excuse me while I beat the hell out of him.**

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

I sighed, just relaxing contently in the sun outside of Inuyasha and my hut that we had fixed up months ago. It was nice to just…relax peacefully, without my "mate" hovering around me, making sure I was safe and sound. It got annoying sometimes, you know!

I smiled, closing my eyes. Yes, definitely peaceful.

Inuyasha had gone hunting a few hours ago, though I had had to force him to. He said he didn't want to leave his mate when I was so close to having his child. My argument: we were completely out of meat and his "mate" was absolutely starving for some. That got him out fast enough.

I stretched, leaning against the shady trunk with a content sigh.

It had been half a month since Shippo had helped me and Sango get the rice from Miroku. All had been peaceful except for a single random demon that had dared to attack 'Inuyasha's Village', thinking it was more powerful then him. Yeah, right. It hadn't lasted more than five minutes.

I smiled, and then hissed, giving a wince of pain as pain raced through me. "Ow," I muttered, heaving myself to my feet as I gently caressed my fairly large belly. "I hope you come soon, little one," I joked as I went back inside. "I can't walk or visit Sango very often with you." The pain suddenly returned, twice as bad. I doubled over, giving a groan. "What the…must have eaten something," I muttered.

I settled down after the pain went away, giving a small sigh. I knew better. Nothing would happen without Inuyasha here, I had promised everything would be fine while he was gone.

Another wave of pain hit me and I stifled a small cry, doubling over again. "Ow, ow, ow," I whimpered. I staggered to my feet, giving a groan. It hurt beyond belief. I began to make my way to the door. Sango would give me some medicine, I was sure; she was just a bit away…

Another wave of pain and I crumpled to the ground, my mind going black.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

((Inuyasha's POV))

I had been reluctant to leave Kagome, who wouldn't be when she was expecting _our_ pup any day now? But Kagome had pointed out the _very_ important fact that she couldn't be very healthy without any meat, so I had reluctantly agreed, contenting myself with remaining within a few kilometers of our slightly secluded hut.

I hunted deer, rabbits, and a mouse -don't ask, I really don't understand why. And then I gutted them before starting home.

I grinned as the hut came into view. "Hey, Kagome, I'm back!" I called happily, excited to see and make sure she was alright.

Silence.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, placing the dead animals onto the ground. "Kagome?" I called again, swinging the bamboo door flap out of my way. I froze, my eyes widening with panic. "Kagome!" I cried harshly, throwing myself beside her on the ground.

She was unconscious on the ground, whimpering despite her unconsciousness.

I quickly scooped her up, ears flattened as I raced out of the hut. "Kagome," I said urgently, trying to wake her up. I made it to Kaede's in no time. "Kaede!"

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

((Back to Kagome's POV))

I moaned softly as I came to, pain rippling through me. I gave another moan of pain, thrashing wildly to try and get rid of it.

"Kagome, calm down," A voice instructed in a snarl. It was full of fear and worry. "It's okay, it'll stop in a little bit, I promise."

"N'yasha?" I whimpered, immediately seeking him through the pain. "Hurts."

Inuyasha gently touched my cheek, kissing my head quickly. "I know," he murmured. "You're just having the pup, that's all. It'll stop in a little bit, I promise."

I groaned again, reaching for Inuyasha. "Sorry."

He smiled gently, leaning over me. "Hey, how about this: you're forgiven if you calm down and try not to stress out, kay?" "How's she doing?" Sango's voice asked from the doorway, her own voice stressed. "Is she okay?" "She is awake," Kaede called in reply. "She merely passed out from the pain, she will be fine."

I groaned again, looking towards the door with a weak smile. "Sango-Chan."

Sango smiled reassuringly, coming over to me and Inuyasha. "Hey, Kagome. How you feeling?" "Terrible," I croaked, shooting a weak smile at Inuyasha as well as Sango. "Is it supposed to hurt this much?" Sango laughed, looking down at us. "Are you kidding? At least you're only having one child, Kagome. I had two at once."

I gave a laugh, and then closed my eyes. "I want to sleep…"

Kaede sighed, moving over and pressing her hand to my forehead. "You've got a few more hours, Kagome. It would be best to remain awake."

I was tempted to face palm.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**Inuyasha was practically bouncing beside me a few hours later, his golden eyes gleaming with excitement as Kaede finished cleaning off the child he had been waiting for. "What is it?"**

"**It's a pup," I said sarcastically, cranky and tired. "What else?"**

**He shot me a slight scowl. "No sh-"**

"**It's a girl," Kaede interrupted, giving a small laugh. She walked over, the small child in her arms. When she knelt beside me, she handed the child to me. "Here you are, Kagome. Good job."**

**Inuyasha helped me sit up without a word, his eyes going wide with wonder as he rested his chin on my shoulder, curious. I laughed softly, gently cradling the baby. **

**Her hair was silver with black tips, and the baby had the same dog ears as her father -with black tips as well. She looked up with curious golden eyes, her ears swiveling. She had fangs and claws as well.**

"**Err…what's her name?" Inuyasha asked bluntly.**

**I laughed quietly, leaning back against him while brushing some hair out of my face. "We'll name her together, Inuyasha…I want her to have Inu in it though."**

**Inuyasha tilted his head, looking innocent. "Inu?"**

"**She has the ears," I explained.**

**Inuyasha chuckled, nuzzling my cheek. "Okay, okay. What 'bout Inuki?"**

"**Inuki," I mused, looking down. She squealed and I laughed. "Inuki it is," I decided.**


	23. Epilogue

I laughed, my eyes full of amusement as Inuyasha grunted and went down under the body of a small form -Inuki. She giggled, crying, "Got you, got you!"

"Yeah, you got me, runt," Inuyasha laughed, rolling over and beginning to wrestle with our daughter.

"Go' ooh!" Another voice cooed, giggling.

I laughed, scooping up our three year old son -Tsume- while his six year old sister played. "That's right, got you," I agreed.

"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha called, waving over at me with a fanged grin.

"Yes?" I replied, giving a small laugh.

"Bring Tsume over, I want him to start playing, too!"

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

It's been six years since I returned to the Feudal Era and married/mated Inuyasha. We now have another child, a three year old son known as Tsume, and another on the way. My family of three became four, soon to be five.

We had overcome a few ups and downs in those six years.

There had been a drought, when the whole village had struggled to feed and water themselves. Inuyasha had gone practically to Hell and back to get me and the children food and water.

Then you had the death of Sango. That had been the worst time of my life besides being stuck in the Meido.

While Inuyasha had been away on a hunt for food, Miroku with him for some reason, a massive badger demon had attacked. Sango had leaped in its way to protect Miu and Mai, who had been frozen in terror. She had been slashed across the chest by its claws. I had purified the demon, but it was too late.

When Miroku returned to the sight of his wife and best friend dying, he had been utterly heart broken, grief over filling him when Sango passed on in his arms. He still missed her -we all did, but he had becoming stronger for his children, refusing to show the grief around them. When they asked for their mother, he would say that she was a hero who had done heroic duties, but wouldn't be coming home.

And then the time when I was having Tsume. Something had gone wrong and I had lost _way_ too much blood, almost bleeding to death. But in the end, I had survived, relieving Inuyasha of unbelievable stress and grief.

I have been with my husband and children for six years. According to Inuyasha, I have his life span -meaning I will be able to see my mother in a couple hundred years. I would live for centuries with him at my side, our children surrounding him.

I had always loved Inuyasha, and I always will. We would be together.

Forever and always.

**~~OO~~II~~OO~~**

**A/N: This is THE last chapter ;-; I hope you have all enjoyed this story. Please: review and tell me what you have thought.**

**Inuyasha: You look and smell guilty.**

**City: …shut up. I feel bad that this has to end.**

**Inuyasha: Idiot.**

**City: e.o Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and I'll miss you all!**


End file.
